


Plot Bunnies and Story Starts

by QueenGeekRose



Category: Game Grumps, Original Work, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-30 09:03:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11460387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenGeekRose/pseuds/QueenGeekRose
Summary: A work to collect my thoughts for side stories, plot developments in my main stories that i haven't explored and story starters.  Also a place for people to send me plot ideas.  :)Please note, I listed a bunch of fandoms and characters that I'm hoping to write stories for, but have not yet, so if you want to see that, ASK ME!! That's what this series/mess will be for, after all.  (Okay, I had to remove most of the tags, because they were reported, but still, if you want to see something, ask me!  the point still stands.)





	1. What this fic is, isn't, and what it will be.

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Behind the Scenes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7922203) by [QueenGeekRose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenGeekRose/pseuds/QueenGeekRose). 
  * Inspired by [On The Other Side Of The Camera](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6996253) by [QueenGeekRose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenGeekRose/pseuds/QueenGeekRose). 



Hello! This fiction probably won't be of interest to people who aren't already readers of my works, but I'm really just using it as a place to organize my thoughts and plans for shorter stories, plot divergences, and places to incubate new stories to see if they will hatch out to be full stories, or if I just don't have enough time and energy to develop them. This is also a place to toss me ideas, freely, to be turned into stories or ideas for places you'd like to see my writing go on one of my current stories (or even places my plot could have gone somewhere different and how that could have gone). Each chapter is likely to be short, containing just enough to tease my brain into action for further exploration, or to get the idea out so I can move on. Some of the works within this fiction will be complete here while others are just starters for things I'll write out more later, as time allows. 

**_What I'd like to see from you, the readers and commenters:_**  
1) Ideas! My brain is busy, coming up with a lot of things all by itself, but ideas readers toss me often get worked into my plots and some of the best ideas/plot developments have been tossed to me in a very basic form by a reader. Or the idea they suggested sent my brain sparking off with new possibilities. So, even if you think it might be dumb (which I doubt it will be), send me those thoughts. Who knows where it will lead!

2) Comments on any of my works, about what you like, where I could improve, things you'd like to see. Whatever. I've only been writing a little over a year and I want to improve to the point that maybe I could eventually write a novel and be paid to write. 

3) General questions you have for me. Want to know more about me? Ask away. I'll try to answer things, unless you get to personal. Need or want me to help you figure out something for your own writing? Ask me. Maybe I can help you over the writer's block or give you a fresh perspective on your idea. I'm willing to try.

\-------------

 _ **What this fiction is not:**_  
1) A place to harass or shoot down other people's ideas. Polite conversations are fine, crapping on someone else isn't. That goes for my ideas as well as other commenters.

2) A place to complain about something I wrote that you didn't like. Again, constructive criticism is welcome. Just saying you don't like something, or my style is dumb, isn't.

3) A place to ask someone (me) to write (or draw) something for you, so you can use it with your own name on it. Don't be dumb. Also, if you ask me to write something specific and I don't do it immediately, be patient. Some ideas kick things off in my brain faster than others. Sometimes I need time to think, or have other things, outside writing, taking over my life for a bit.

\-------------

Now let's get this fiction started!


	2. AU -- Plot Divergence #1 OOSOC (On The Other Side Of The Camera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An idea I had for where the plot could have gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just one rough idea of where I thought my story might have gone if I hadn't ended up writing as a Mark X Reader X Jack. There will be multiple AU's from this particular plot bunny. (5 or so, I think?) And they will be marked as to who the pairing/romance is between in the chapter notes. Have fun reading! Each story start will be it's own chapter, and none of them will be complete. Really they are just a jumping off point, in case I decide to go back and write these out into future stories later, if there is enough interest and if I can figure out what I want to do.
> 
> Idea #1 -- Reader x Jack

_**Plot would remain the same until about chapter twelve, after the guys are both starting to really express an interest and leave for the convention. The reader would still go to the Grump Party and her best friends from home would still visit, but she would make a decision to let Mark (and Danny) down easy and just be with Jack. Major plot divergence starts there, with the texting conversation that happened while the guys were all away at the con and had met up to play games in Wade's room in the evening. Here's the relevant part of Chapter twelve and where it would start to go from there...** _

\---------------------------------

When I got home, I once again got ready for bed and crawled in bed with my laptop so I could surf the web and check social media. Before long, Jack and Mark were instant messaging me, telling me all about the convention and the panel they had done, wishing I had been there too, and generally telling me they missed me. I eventually realized that neither one knew the other was talking to me, so I asked them where they were right now. They both responded with the same thing: hanging out with Bob and Wade in Wade's room. I started cracking up. I hatched a devious plan. Since they were oblivious to what the other was doing, I grabbed my phone and texted Wade a message.

Me* Wade, don't tell Mark or Jack you got this from me, but suggest something to distract them. I have an evil plan.

Wade* Okay, [y/n]. What are we doing? And can I tell Bob?

Me* Sure. :) Just make sure he doesn't tell them either. They are both chatting with me, and have been for a while now. Neither one knows the other is talking to me. I want to see if I can either embarrass them or make them figure it out. What do you think?

Wade* I'm in. So's Bob. Go for the embarrassment! We'll let you know how it goes...

Bob* Hey [y/n], great plan. You could also try to make them uncomfortable. We'll come up with a really good distraction. Actually, we'll start a game together. That should keep their attention, at least until you start whatever you intend to do. Good luck!

AI giggled and settled back in bed, thinking. I decided I was going to flirt with Jack fairly quickly, but wasn't sure what to say to Mark at first. I mean, I knew I liked him, but more as a close friend, than in a romantic way, so I didn't want to lead him on, especially since I realized he was interested in more than just friendship. It wasn't fair to him. So I decided to distract him by teasing him gently in a sisterly fashion and see how he took it. I started with Jack though.

Me* Hey Jack, whatcha doing?

Jack* Playing Rocket League. Can't talk now. Gotta concentrate.

Me* But I'm lonely and bored. I miss you. 

Jack* I miss you too. I wish you had come with us this weekend.

Me* I know. Actually though, the Grump party was a lot of fun, and I had a couple of surprise visitors so, it's good I stayed home, even if I do miss you a lot. I miss Mark and Wade and Bob too. You guys are all a lot of fun to hang out with. Especially you and Mark.

Jack* Aww. That's sweet. Now, why don't you play a game or something so I can concentrate on this?

Me* Okay. I guess I can play with myself...

Jack* ... What? Did you mean by yourself? Are you saying what I think you said?

Me* *Blushes* Um...

Jack*... Now, I really miss being there.

Me * I wish you were too. 

Jack* !! 

Jack* ...

And with that, Jack was suddenly gone from our conversation, going offline on Steam as well. I giggled. Meanwhile, I had been having this conversation with Mark.

Me* Maaark! I'm bored. Amuse me.

Mark* ? Why are you suddenly bored? And what do you have in mind?

Me* Tell me a story. My TV show ended and there's nothing to doooo....

Mark* Okay, okay. Um, shit. Can't it wait? I'm in the middle of a game here with Jack, Wade, and Bob.

Me* Whatcha playing?

Mark* Rocket League. Now, shush.

Me* That's not very nice. Telling me to shush. Maybe I don't want to shush. Maybe I want to talk to you until you pay attention. Hmm, what to say... What to say...

Me* I know.

Me* I'll just blow up your phone.

Me* That 

Me* Way

Me* You

Me* Can't

Me* Ignore

Me* Me

Me* Any

Me* More.

Me* Right?

Me* Right, Mark?

Me* Oh, Mark.

Me* Markimooooo

Me* Mark...

Me* You're no fun.

Me* I can keep this up all night though

Me* Am I annoying you yet?

Me* Huh, am I?

Me* Whatcha gonna do about it?

Mark* Grr! STOP IT! God, you're as bad as my brother when I ignore him. Is that what you were going for?

Me* Duh. I told you I wouldn't let you ignore me. Now, tell me a story.

Mark* Or what? You'll annoy me to death?

I chuckled. Me* Yep. I can be even more irritating.

Suddenly a text from Wade came in. Wade* What did you do to Jack? He went absolutely white, then red and ran into the bathroom. Is he going to be okay?

I laughed out loud. Me* Just give him some time. He should be fine. 

Wade* Well, That's good. Oh, and I told Mark and Jack I was texting Molly, so they won't question me on my phone. Are you the one making Mark's phone blow up?

Me* Of course. I'm annoying him. :P

Mark* Is that even possible? Damn. Now I'm scared.

I blinked. What? Oh, Mark was responding to the message I sent him. I looked back at the message I had sent him and and his response then grinned. Me* You have no idea how scary I can be. Irritation should be the least of the reasons to be afraid of me. I can destroy you if I want.

Mark* Really? How would you do that?

I cackled. Me* I'm your editor. Think about it for a minute. I'm sure SOMETHING will come to you.

Mark*...

Mark* ... 

Mark* ... 

Mark* ...oh shit.

Wade* What the hell did you just do to Mark? He literally just drop his phone and curled up and is whimpering. He's muttering something about edits.

Me* HA! So he got the point. Good. He was ignoring me and I was being a pain. Then I told him he should be afraid of me for more than annoying him and reminded him I was his editor. :)

Wade* Holy crap! That's just evil.

Me* I know. Have a good night...

I logged off Skype, letting the guys get back to whatever the rest of their evening plans were, happy with how things had turned out. I puttered around on Tumblr, looking to see who had updated their pages and what was new for a while, then shut things down when I got tired. Just as I was about to crawl under the covers, I got a phone call on my cell phone. It was Jack. "Hey Jack. What's up?"

"Lass..." Jack trailed off, then took a deep breath. "Lass, are ye just leading me on because ye were bored? Or do ye have feelings for me too? I hope ye know how I feel about ye. I've been trying ta let ye know."

I swallowed. "Yeah, Jack. I know. And I really like you too. A lot. I wasn't trying to lead you on. I'm just so comfortable around you."

:"Comfortable? Great..."

"Yes, Jack. Comfortable. Comforted. You make me feel happy, safe, warm, and comfortable." 

"Oh. That's not what I thought ye meant by that word." He sighed. "Lass, can we talk about this some more?"

I settled on the bed in a better position. "Of course. Jack, I really care about you. You must know that. I'm hoping, maybe, you might want to see where this is going with me?"

I could hear the grin in his voice. "Are ye asking me on a date, lass?"

"Um, yeah. I guess so."

"Tha answer is yes. I definitely want ta go on a date with ye. More than one really." I smiled at that and hummed a happy noise. He chuckled. "Glad ta hear ye like that idea too. Listen, let's talk more about it when I get home from tha con. We'll be back in two days. And our flight gets in at six. Do ye want ta come over ta my apartment for food?"

I chuckled. "Nope. You come to my place. I'll cook dinner for us. And I'll plan it for around seven or so, just in case your flight is delayed and so you can get back to the apartment and unload your bags, okay?" 

"Ye got it lass. See ye in two days."

"Goodnight Jack."

"Goodnight [y/n]. Sweet dreams."

I grinned into my phone. "They will be now. I have the feeling I'm going to be dreaming about you."

"I'll dream about ye too. See ye in dreamland then, lass." 

"Goodnight for real this time, sweetie."

"Go ta sleep now, lass... I'll be home soon." I sighed and we both disconnected, reluctant to hang up, but both knowing we had to get up and do things the next day. I rolled over and hugged a pillow tight to my chest, happy in the moment. When my phone buzzed at me again, still in my hand, I nearly dropped it. I looked at the caller id and grinned. It was Mark this time.

"Yo, Markimoo. What can I do for you?"

"I've been trying to call you for the last half an hour. You're phone's been busy the whole time. Who were you talking to?"

"Mark, that's really none of your business. Did you need something, or were you calling to check up on me? Because I'm a grown woman and don't need a babysitter, thank you very much."

Mark sighed. "Yeah, I know. I know you're a grown woman. You're a very attractive, smart, sexy grown woman. I..." He cleared his throat and started again. "I wanted to talk to you, that's all."

I giggled softly. "Uh huh. Are you still scared of me? I won't really mess with your channel you know. I might make a remixed edit of you saying stupid stuff, just for fun, but I won't post it online. Don't worrry. I was just being a brat. You know, teasing you."

He blew out another sigh. "Yeah, I knew that. It's still good to hear, but I trust you and knew you weren't going to screw with my channel. I will admit to you, the thought of it scared me for a few minutes though."

I giggled again. "That was the point. I can be scary. Oh, and I like hot sauce pranks, if you get out of line too much. This is your only warning."

I could hear Mark gulp. "Shit. Thanks for the warning. I'm not a total spice wimp, but..."

"I've seen the videos Mark. Yes, you are. Habaneros aren't hot. Well, unless they are the Red Savina variety. They are pretty spicy. But I've eaten Carolina Reapers and Ghost peppers before. Those are hot, sort of. Even they didn't really flame me out. I'm a chili head. The hotter the better. And I like other types of spicy food too. I eat wasabi, ginger, and HOT curries. I could make you cry like a little bubble blowing bitch baby if I wanted. But I don't because you're my friend."

There went another sigh. "Friend? Is that all I am? Don't you have any deeper feelings for me?"

I hesitated. "Mark..." I paused and collected my thoughts. "Mark, I really, really like you. You're one of my best friends. If things were just a little different, I could totally see you and I getting together, but I have stronger feelings for someone else. I'm really sorry."

Mark was quiet for a minute. "It's my own fault for insisting. Who is it? I mean, I know Danny and Jack are both interested in you too. Please tell me it's one of them. Somehow that would make this a lot more bearable."

"Yeah. It is. It's Jack. I mean..." I sighed. "Listen, I hope this doesn't change our friendship, or your friendship with him. It would kill me to know I hurt the two of you that way. And I really don't want to lose you as a best friend. You and Danny are like brothers to me, well, sort of. Brothers who I think are incredibly handsome and sexy men, even if you aren't who I want to be with right now. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Yeah, babe. I get it. And don't worry, I still want to be your friend and Jack's. This won't change anything, I hope. I'll try my hardest not to get jealous."

I smiled again. "Good. Now, how's the con going?"

Mark laughed, sounding genuinely amused. "Smooth subject change. I want to ask one more question, then we can talk about the con, if you want. Does Jack know how you feel? Have you told him? Because I don't think he knows."

I giggled. "Um, yes he does. We talked about it tonight. That's who I was on the phone with when you tried to call me before."

Mark laughed again. "Oh, I see. So you two were having phone sex and you just picked up right away after? Man, I'm going to have to talk to him tomorrow."

"Mark Edward Fischbach, you will do no such thing! If I find out you gave him a hard time, I will make an embarrassing video after all and send it to your mothers! See if I don't. Then I'll save it on the cloud and send it to the next girl you want to date."

Mark gasped. "Okay, okay. Jeez! Down killer. Damn. Remind me not to piss you off. That's playing dirty pool."

"And don't you forget it. Besides, we weren't having phone sex. We were just talking. I told him how I felt and asked him on a date, sort of. He agreed and we set it up for after he gets home. But don't give him a hard time. I'm serious about this Mark."

He laughed. "Babe, I could tell. I mean, first off, you called me by my full name, like I was a kid being scolded by their mom. Second you made a scarily effective threat. I don't even know how you have my mom's contact information. Third, you threatened me in a way to keep me in line for the future. I got the message, don't worry. It gave me the shivers."

I smirked and I could hear the amusement in my voice when I answered that. "Good you goofball. I have both Dee and your mom's email and phone numbers because of work. They contacted Vicki and asked for my info, and when she didn't hand it over, they called Wade. He asked me about it and I agreed. They email me to check up on you, occasionally, especially when you don't call them. Oh, and Thomas has emailed me a few times too. They all seem nice, and they worry about you a lot." I started giggling.

Mark sounded worried when he spoke up again. "Okay, um, I'm scared again. Why are you giggling like that?"

I laughed out loud. "I just realized I could edit something really, really bad out of the footage I have, especially the scrapped bits. Something that would look obscene and sound like a porno. It wouldn't even be that hard to do. You make a lot of very sexual sounds when you play games, Markimoo, and the faces and gestures you make..."

Mark's voice was small. "Please, for the love of god, don't send that to my family. That would be really horrible."

"Behave yourself and you'll be fine. Oh, and I have spies everywhere, so I will know if you say something to Jack. Now, seriously, how's the con going? Are you having fun? Are the four of you getting mobbed like you did at the convention last weekend?"

Mark sounded more normal when he answered me now. "Yeah. Um the con's going fine. Security is pretty tight, but the fans are everywhere and they are all really excited about the TV show announcement last week. How was the party at Arin and Suzy's? Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. I kind of went crazy and cooked too much food for it, but then I relaxed and we all played a bunch of games, mostly FunEmployed and Truth or Dare after everyone was a little less sober. Danny and Arin had to help me haul the leftovers home after the party though. Then I had some surprise guest show up, who I've been visiting with all weekend. They want to meet all of you guys, of course, so I hope you'll all be up for that on Tuesday, when I show them around the office, but if not, I understand. They are some of my oldest friends, from home, and I've missed them a lot."

Mark chuckled. "Hey, we all like meeting fans, and I have the feeling we are all going to like any friends of yours. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm more curious and excited to meet them. They probabluy have some pretty epic stories about you from before."

I groaned, then laughed. "Yeah, they definitely do. Now, we both have busy days tomorrow. I need to get some sleep. You do too. No one wants you falling asleep at a panel or fan meetup. God, can you imagine? So it's time to hang up and go to bed Mark. I'll talk to you soon."

"I could hear Mark yawn on the other end. "You're right. Goodnight, [y/n]."

"Night Mark." We hung up our phones. I turned my to silent mode, set an alarm, and drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Lia and Greg came over to spend the day with me. I decided we needed a quiet day, so I started cooking well before they arrived and we all settled in for an epic video game tournament, tons of homemade food, and all the YouTube and Netflix we could stand. We had already been gaming for about an hour when, at noon, Danny knocked on the door. He was hungry and wanted to see if I wanted to go out for lunch. I laughed and invited him in to join our gamerfest, telling him about all the food I had cooked. He grinned and joined us, stopping briefly back at his apartment to grab his laptop. We all had a fantastic afternoon and evening, with everyone staying later than we realized. Lia and Greg left first, after finally noticing it was eleven at night, and promised to meet me at Disney bright and early. I smiled as I waved them off, a happy sigh escaping me as I watched them pull away. Danny was still in my living room, gathering his stuff up. When I stepped back inside, he smiled at me. "Babe, that was a lot of fun. Your friends are awesome and the food was fan-fucking-static, as always."

I smiled back at him. "Thanks Danny. I'm glad you enjoyed everything. I like having you visit. You're an amazing friend."

Danny came over and hugged me, the looked me deep in the eyes. "Is that all I am? I'd really like to be more, you know."

I swallowed and looked away. "Danny..." I licked suddenly very dry lips. "Danny, I like you a lot. You're a gorgeous and sexy man, but I have feelings for someone else."

Danny chuckled. "Is is Mark or is it Jack? Babe, I know you care a lot for all three of us. Did one of them manage to swoop in first and steal you away? Or is it just that you feel more strongly for one of them and haven't told them yet?"

I blinked, my jaw dropping slightly. "Um, was I that obvious? Shit." I blushed brightly, especially when Danny nodded. "Sorry, Danny. I care about you and Mark, more than anyone else except my actual family, and Jack. I think I'm in love with Jack." I swallowed.

Danny hugged me again. "Well then, I'm just going to keep a close eye on you, as a best friend, okay? I'd rather see you happy and be close that way than make things awkward or uncomfortable and lose you. Besides, I think my feelings aren't that strong, romantically, at this point. Mostly I just wanted to see where things went. Have you talked to Jack about this, at all?"

I swallowed again and hugged Danny back. "Yeah, a little. I mean, I didn't declare I love him or anything, but we both told each other some of how we feel and decided we want to go on a date as soon as he gets home. Honestly, if I didn't think it would freak him out, I would tell him how I really felt, but it seem too soon. I don't want to scare him off."

Danny chuckled. "Well, I'm glad to see you've thought about things. Now, have you talked to Mark about this at all?" 

I nodded. "Uh, yeah. Right after I talked to Jack, actually. Speaking of that, I need to text or call Jack tonight and check on a couple of things and text Wade. I probably ought to do that before it gets too late. "

Danny nodded. "Well, I was planning on heading home anyway. I have shit to do tomorrow. See you soon, [y/n]!" With that, he reached over, gave me a fast kiss on the cheek, and slung his bag over his shoulder, walking out the front door before I could react. By the time I managed to unfreeze from the surprise of the friendly kiss, he was already back at his apartment door. I just managed to spot him as the door closed behind him, so I sighed and locked my front door for the night, shutting everything but my laptop and phone down for the night, dragging them back to the bedroom with me. I logged onto Skype first and was happy to see Jack was still online. In fact almost as soon as I connected and saw his name, he called me.

"Hi Jack! What's up?"

"Evening lass. I thought maybe ye'd already gone ta bed. I was just checking emails and responding ta a few comments before I turned in myself. How was yer day?"

I grinned and told him all about it. We chatted back and forth for a good half and hour before I noticed him yawning. I smiled at him. "Jack, you need to go to bed. So do I. But first I have a question I need to ask you. Don't lie about it please." Jack nodded and raised an eyebrow, clearly curios. "Did Mark say anything or give you a hard time today?"

Jack blinked, clearly not expecting that. "About what? He seemed pretty normal, mostly. He did give me a few odd looks today, but I just figured he was being weird."

I grinned. "Um, he might have declared he has feelings for me last night. I turned him down, gently, and he started talking shit. He asked when I decided I had feelings for you, among other things, and if I had talked to you about it. When I told him the truth, he assumed we had Skype or phone sex and said he was going to say something to you about it. I threatened him, but I just wanted to make sure he didn't give you a hard time today."

Jack grinned. "And what did ye plan ta do ta him if he did say something?"

I laughed. "Oh, I had a very special, very evil torture in mind. I was going to edit a special video, that made him seem particularly obscene on camera, and send it to his mothers, brother, and save it for his next girlfriend. Oh, and I mentioned I would be saving it to my personal cloud for future use."

Jack started laughing. "That'll keep him in line. Thanks for standing up for me."

I smiled, a little shyly. "Of course, Jack. You're important to me." 

Jack returned my smile. "Good. Ye are ta me too. And I'm sorry ye were in tha position where he confessed his feelings. I had no idea ye even talked ta him last night."

I nodded. "Yeah. And I talked to Danny today, who decided to make a move too. I'm not sure why all three of you picked this weekend, but..."

Jack chuckled. "I couldn't keep my feelings ta myself any longer, lass. Maybe they felt tha same way." I smiled again. "So how did it go with Danny?"

I blushed. "He was really understanding when I told him how I felt. He definitely wants to stay close friends. So does Mark, for that matter. And Mark promised to try not to get jealous of us, or let anything come between your friendship with him."

Jack smiled at me, a soft expression. "Lass, thank ye for thinking of that. Tha two of us have been friends for a good while now, and I'd hate to give that up." I nodded understanding. "Now, my beautiful lass, we both need ta go ta bed. I'm sure ye have things ta do before I get home tomorrow."

I smiled brighter, nodding. "A few things. My friends who dropped in on me unexpectedly from home want to go to Disney with me, and I need to make dinner for us." I blushed a little. "I want to make something special for you."

Jack's grin was enormous. "Everything ye cook is amazing, lass. Ye don't need ta worry or go ta any extra trouble. Honestly, I'm okay with just takeout pizza or something, if I get ta spend time with ye alone."

I shook my head. "I want to cook you something special. But for now, I think both of us better head to bed. Goodnight Jack."

"Goodnight [Y/N]. Sleep well and dream of me." 

"I will. You too." He grinned and blew me a kiss over the screen, then we both disconnected. I went to bed with my head buzzing with thoughts of Jack, plans for what to cook for him, and excitement for going to Disney with Lia and Greg the next day.

\--------------------------------------------

**_Story would continue in new direction with Mark and Danny as overprotective brother figures to our leading lady. Jack would never have had his accident. The lead wouldn't have had the heart issues. Complete plot divergence beginning from after this chapter on._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y'all want, and I can find the time, I might expand this into a full story at some point. Let me know in the comments what ya wanna see from me. 
> 
> Idea #1 -- Reader x Jack  
> Idea #2 -- Reader x Danny  
> Idea #3 -- Reader x Mark  
> Idea #4 -- Reader x Danny x Jack x Mark (lol -- everybody's into everybody here folks!)  
> Idea #5 -- Friendzone only -- no romances. {Possible septiplier though)  
> Idea #6 -- Reader x ???


	3. Chapter 3 : AU -- Plot Divergence #2 OOSOC (On The Other Side Of The Camera) DANNY (Part-1?) *

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Danny hook up and start dating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idea #2 -- Reader x Danny
> 
>  
> 
> **  
> _Plot would remain the same until about chapter ten, after the guys are all starting to really express an interest and leave for the convention. The reader would still go to the Grump Party and the drunken kiss with Danny would still happen, but be a little different, and her best friends from home would still visit, not until the next day. Major plot divergence starts there, with that drunken kiss..._  
>  **

After the party at Arin and Suzy's apartment, Dan helped me carry the last of my dishes home. I was grateful he lived on the bottom floor because both of us were a little less than sober and we both stumbled a few times as we walked across the parking lot. Suzy had provided me with a box to put the leftover cupcakes and cookies in so Dan and I had managed to get everything back by ourselves, without the extra help Arin had provided when he had carried things to the party. Arin was busy with the party anyway, since I left before it was actually over, claiming I wanted a quiet night's sleep, since it was already after two. Suzy and Arin had seen both of us out, promising to see us both the next day, or the day after, at the latest. I invited Dan in, and offered him a drink while I put the food away, as a thank you for helping me haul the food back from the party. Dan smiled and accepted, taking a glass of lemonade and sitting at the kitchen island, watching me while I worked. I hummed quietly to myself, not feeling self-conscious, mainly because I was drunk still, but also because I was comfortable in my surroundings and with Dan. As soon as I finished putting everything away, I turned to Dan to ask him if he needed anything else and jumped, surprised to see him standing right behind me. "[Y/N]... Babe, you've been driving me crazy all night. You're just so sweet. Come here." With that, Dan lifted a hand to my cheek, drew me in close and kissed me.

The kiss lasted for far longer than I expected, stretching from a simple friendly kiss to something far deeper and more searing, our tongues mating together and dancing drunkenly between our mouths. I leaned into Dan's body, craving more of his touch suddenly. He seemed to want the same things because his hands started roaming all over my body too, then slipped under my clothes, thrilling me and making me feel wonderful. I started tugging on his clothes as I pulled him down the hall to my bedroom, only slightly shocked by my bold behavior. Maybe if I were sober this wouldn't be happening this way, but right now, this felt to right for me to question things and all I felt was the need to have Dan inside me, now. By the time we got into the bedroom and to the bed, both of us were naked and very, very into things. Dan looked at me like I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and I was definitely making sure he knew just how attractive I thought he was. I was just sober enough to remember the condoms and told Dan where they were just in time before we started fucking like bunnies. We were both feeling pleasantly satisfied and loose when we fell asleep a little while later, holding each other. 

I woke up the next morning to a terrible hangover, confused about why I was naked and sore, and wondering who the hell was pounding on my front door at, I glanced over at my bedside clock and fell out of bed with a groan. Who the fuck was in my bed? I managed to stand up and grab my robe, making my way to my front door and opened it just a crack. It was Suzy. I looked at her with bleary eyes. "Hey Suzy, what's up?"

"Um, have you seen Danny, this morning? He never made it home last night. His phone started ringing about an hour ago and Arin was worried when he didn't pick up, so he went down to check on him, but Danny wasn't there."

I blinked. Was that Dan in my bed? "Possibly. Can you give me a minute to go grab some aspirin real quick? My head's killing me this morning. Jesus, I either need to drink less or need to remember to drink more water. I'm so hungover, I don't even remember leaving the party last night." 

Suzy smiled sweetly. "Sure. I'll go put your tea kettle on. Unless you want coffee?" I shrugged and groaned again. Suzy made a sympathetic noise and patted my back then headed into the kitchen. I stepped back into my bedroom, noticing the discarded clothes in the end of the hallway this time and gathering them up. Yup, these were definitely my clothes. And what looked like Dan's. What did we do? We couldn't have... I stepped into the bedroom again and walked over to the side of the bed and looked at the clock. It was eight fifteen. I sighed. 

Dan lifted his head up and looked at me. "Ugh. Why am I naked? And where the fuck am I?"

I chuckled softly to myself. "Looks like I'm not the only one hungover. Come on, Dan. Suzy came over to try and find you. Here. Put some clothes back on first. We'll just tell her you slept here, but not where. Holy shit my head hurts. Do you need any pain killers?" Dan nodded, stopping the process of pulling his shirt on long enough to hold his head in his hands. I grabbed the medicine and a bottle of water and tossed a dose of pills back with a swig of water and handed them both to him. 

He smiled at me as he took them. "Thanks babe. So, what the hell did we do after the party? I mean, why did we get naked?"

I laughed. "I have no idea. Um, besides the fact we both got naked. And um, I'm pretty sore, so I think we probably had sex, I don't remember last night at all. In fact, I can't even remember coming back from the party. I'm sorry."

Dan shook his head. "Not your fault. Neither of us were exactly sober. Shit. This is a mess. Well, let's go face Suz and then you and I need to talk about this. I think I know what I'd like it to mean, but I don't know what you're thinking or how you feel about me." He looked at me, then leaned over and hugged me. "I hope, if nothing else, we can still be friends."

I smiled. "I don't think I want that part to change, Dan. And I like you, a lot. I wouldn't have slept with you, drunk or sober, if I didn't. Hell, I wouldn't have slept with you, even drunk, if I didn't love you, at least a little. Take that how you will." I blushed and looked down. 

Dan lifted my chin up to meet his gaze, looking me right in the eyes. "Really?" I nodded. He smiled and kissed me softly, then suddenly the whole of the previous night came flooding back into my memory in vivid detail and I kissed him back passionately. Dan swallowed when we separated and rested his forehead against my cheek, clearly sorting though his own emotions. I rested my hands on his back, holding him loosely for the moment. "Holy shit. Babe, that was amazing, but kind of like an emotional sucker punch. How did you pack so much emotion into one kiss? And did you have the same rush of memories when our lips met?" I nodded again. Dan picked his head up and shook it softly, as though clearing the cobwebs. "Okay. I really need to put these pants on. Can you help me straighten this shirt please?"

I smiled and pulled his shirt into place while Dan pulled his pants up, then stood up and buttoned them up. I gave him a kiss, this time on the cheek, making him smile and grab me around the waist. I hugged him and rested my head on his shoulder. "Hmm. I like having you here like this Dan. Now come on, Suzy has to be wondering what the hell happened to me." Dan nodded and let me go, reluctantly, following me down the hall a few steps behind me. When I got to the kitchen, Suzy was sitting at the breakfast bar, where Dan had been last night, holding one of Dan's shoes, looking perplexed. I laughed. "You found his shoe! Dan, Suzy found it." I turned to Suzy with a grin, a plan forming in my head. Dan came into the kitchen, bobbing his head and sat down next to Suzy. I smiled at him. "Suzy, Dan was helping me with the food last night and I gave him a glass of lemonade last night, as a thank you, while I was putting the leftovers away. Dan managed to lose a shoe somehow and neither of us was sober enough to find it. He slept here. I have that extra room, you know, so space isn't an issue. I was still pretty foggy when you first showed up though, so I wasn't sure if Dan had really stayed or if that was a dream, so I went back and checked on him, brought him some hangover medicine, and brought him back out with me to search for the missing shoe this morning. Thanks for finding it."

Suzy laughed. "Oh my god. How drunk were you two?" I blushed and shook my head.

Dan laughed. "Really trashed. You have no idea Suz, or you would have cut us off about three hours earlier. Or at least you would have cut me off then and [y/n] at least an hour before we left. We were both tripping on the air trying to walk back over here. It was kind of pathetic." I blushed again and nodded. 

Suzy smiled at us and shook her head. "Well, I'm glad the two of you are okay then. I was just worried when you turned up missing Danny. Oh, by the way, your Mom was calling you this morning. She left a message to call her back. The phone ringing was how we knew you weren't home and why we got worried. See you guys later." Suzy waved as she walked back out of my apartment, still chuckling to herself over our tale of drunken stupidity. 

I turned to Dan with a smile. "Sorry to throw you under the bus like that on the spot, I just didn't know what else to tell her, and when she found your shoe, it seemed like the perfect way to explain everything."

Dan waved a hand. "Babe, it was inspired. You stayed cool under pressure and nothing you said was actually a lie, except the part about me looking for the shoe this morning. I did lose that one last night and we were too drunk to look for it, but I didn't remember it was even missing until you were telling Suzy that story." Dan tugged my hand, pulling me closer. "Now come here, my brilliant, sexy, drop dead gorgeous lady friend. I want another kiss while we talk about what we want to do. Hm, although, if I had my way, I would have some ideas, and all of them would involve just taking you back to bed for the day and involve lots and lots of sex."

I laughed. "I see that. I wouldn't mind another round or two myself, but I want to make some decisions first, Dan." I kissed him gently. 

Dan smiled. "I really like it when you kiss me. Do it again. Please." I nodded and obeyed. Dan lengthened the kiss by pulling my body closer and just holding me. This kiss was different than our other kisses had been though. It wasn't a friend kiss, nor was it a passionate blaze of heat. It was a slow, tender expression of care and deep emotion. Dan's hand came up and caressed my cheek, feather-light finger tracing along my face as we kissed, making the kiss seem almost unbearably poignant. Both of us had to take a deep steadying breath after we broke the kiss, and there was an odd feeling of loss, even as I leaned my face into Dan's hand, which was still up next to my face. He smiled at me. "God, you're so beautiful, it takes my breath away. Babe, you have to know I'm really, really into you. I want to date you. Will you please go out with me? I'd love it if you'd agree to be my girlfriend."

I blinked. "Really? But... Well, I didn't actually know you were interested in dating me Dan. Of course I'll go out with you, as long as you agree, even if things don't work out in the long run we can still be friends. Like I said, I value you too much to risk losing you from my life, even to date you."

Dan swooped in closer and kissed me again. "I swear! I can't believe I get you all to myself now. I was so sure you were going to pick Jack or Mark over me. I know both of them are really into you too." I blushed and shook my head, then cuddled into Dan's side, hugging him. He smiled and hugged me back. "I'm not wrong, but it's cute that you think I am. Come on. Let's go sit on your couch and cuddle for a little while. Then we can go have some shower sex and maybe we can manage to get you dressed. If we do that, I'll take you out for a nice breakfast, my treat, and we can just spend the whole day together doing whatever you want."

I smiled. "Hmm. The whole day together sounds great, but I want to make us some breakfast first, so snuggles and shower sex are going to have to wait a little bit. You can go sit on the couch if you want. I'll get the food started and then come join you though. Do you want coffee with your food?" Dan smiled and nodded. I kissed him again and stood up, pulling myself loose from his arms, and went over to the coffee pot and starting it up. I started whipping up a pan of muffins, a frittata, and a fruit plate for the two of us. While I was cutting the fruit up, the doorbell rang, so I sent Dan out to see who it was. He reported back it was two people he had never seen before, so I sighed, washed my hands, kissed him briefly, and opened the door. It was my best friends from home Lia and Greg. I quickly invited them in and introduced them to Dan and offered them some coffee, telling them I was cooking breakfast. 

Lia grinned at me. "That sounds great! Hey, I have a million dollar question for you. Where were you last night? We stopped by around midnight, but you didn't answer the door, even though we rang the bell and knocked for a solid twenty minutes."

I laughed. "I wasn't home. I'm not always you know. Last weekend I wasn't home at all either. I was at a convention. Last night, I was at a party until about two thirty or so, I think. I'm not entirely sure what time I got home, really. I was pretty smashed, if you want the truth. But I had a good time, which is all that really matters."

Greg raised an eyebrow. "Really? You got drunk? You NEVER get drunk. And how do you know you made it home safe? How do you know no men took advantage of you at the party?"

Dan and I both laughed. "Because the party was three doors over and up a flight of stairs at a neighbors apartment and my boyfriend walked me home. He was just as drunk as I was, and neither of us took advantage of the other, or we both took advantage of the other, depending on how you look at the situation, I suppose. But that was after the party, when we were back here, at my apartment, in my bed, thank you very much." I leaned on Dan, who hugged my around the waist and smiled into my hair. Lia and Greg both looked a little shocked. I giggled. "Why did you think Dan was over for breakfast, guys? Yes, he is a neighbor, and yes, I do have the tendency to feed everyone around me whenever they show up, but still. It's pretty early for that, even for me, unless there's a reason for him to be here." There was another knock on the door and I sighed. Arin and Suzy were standing there, holding a platter from last night that I had forgotten to bring back. "Come on in guys, you might as well join us. I guess were having a breakfast party. Do you two want coffee?" Arin and Suzy looked a little confused as they followed me in, but nodded. Dan smiled when he saw them. "Dan, can you get Arin and Suzy some coffee? I need to cut up more fruit for everyone. Damn, it's a good thing I was already cooking a lot when I started making stuff. Holy hell."

Dan laughed and poured two more cups of coffee, handing them over to Arin and Suzy, then slid the sugar and creamer over to them, coming over to stand beside me. "You want any help, beautiful? I can probably manage this part of breakfast prep."

I grinned. "Sure, Dan. You can get the rest of the fruit out and wash it. Oh, and peel the oranges please. I'll finish cutting the strawberries and pineapple up while the muffins and frittata cook. Thanks for the assist, handsome." I winked a him, earning a smile.

Arin and Suzy both looked back and forth between us for several seconds, raised their eyebrows and then, at the same time, said exactly the same thing. "What the fuck is going on?"

Dan and I just grinned at each other. Lia and Greg looked very confused. I stepped close to Dan and quietly hummed the theme to the Twilight Zone TV show, making him crack up and accidentally drop one of the oranges on the floor, where he had to go chase it down. I watched amused and when he got close enough, used the fact that the counter was blocking my hands from site to grab Dan's ass while he was bent over, picking the stray orange up. He stood up rather quickly, and looked at me, grinning, but didn't say anything, instead opting to lean close and whisper in my ear. "Babe, I'll get you back for that later. You just see if I don't."

I giggled and turned opening the fridge, pulling out the butter for the muffins, and a few other ingredients I thought people might want, like jam, or salsa for the frittata, then close the door and leaned over to Dan and whispered back to him. "You can try. But was I supposed to just let that juicy opportunity pass me by? You wouldn't have if things were reversed. Tell me I'm wrong." I raised an eyebrow as I stepped back. Dan grinned at me and shook his head, his hair flopping in his face. I laughed. "Yeah, that's what I thought." I had forgotten the rest of the room was trying to figure out what was going on, so I had just said that out loud.

Suzy jumped on the comment. "[Y/N], um, I'm confused. Who are these people, other than Danny? And what's going on here? Something is clearly up."

I decided to just ignore that part of the situation. "These are my best friends from home, Lia and Greg. Sorry for not introducing you right away. Lia, Greg, this is Arin and Suzy, the people who hosted the party I was at last night."

Greg grinned. "The ones who got you drunk? Really? Do tell us more."

Lia raised an eyebrow and looked at them, then crossed her arm. "Hrmph. I'm not all that impressed."

I laughed. "Oh, did I fail to mention, Dan and Arin are the guys who voice the Game Grumps channel? And Dan is the lead singer for StarBomb and Ninja Sex Party? Arin also sings and writes for StarBomb."

Suddenly both Greg and Lia turned to Arin and Dan with huge eyes and visibly tried not to fanboy and fangirl all over them. I laughed. So did Arin. Dan grinned at me. "Nice. I bet you haven't told them who else you work with then." I chuckled and shook my head. Dan grinned. "Oh, can I do it babe? Please?" I laughed and nodded. "Thanks. You're so good to me." Dan batted his eyes at me, fake flirting. I laughed again. Suzy and Arin just looked confused all over again. "Okay, so basically everyone in our apartment complex, except [y/n] anyway, is a YouTuber, and I guess she is too, now. The neighbors above her are Muyskerm and LordMinion777, or Bob and Wade, and next door, between her apartment and mine, is JackSepticEye. She works with them, Markiplier, and several other YouTubers, filming for their channels and a TV show. They're all away at a convention this weekend, or I'm sure they'd be here too, bugging [y/n] for food with the rest of us. And coffee. You know babe, for someone who never actually drinks coffee herself, you certainly go through a lot of it."

I chuckled and nodded. "I know. You're the first person to notice I don't actually drink any coffee." I stepped closer and kissed his cheek. Dan smiled at me. "Thanks for paying attention." I picked up my mug of tea and took a sip, then turned back to the oven just as the timer went off, missing the looks Suzy and Arin were shooting us, of pure befuddlement. Dan saw them though and came over to me, offering to help me put the muffins in a basket, whispering a comment about the look, and how much fun he was having confusing them. I turned back to the rest of the room. "Okay, everyone not helping me, into the living room. We don't have enough room to move in here as it is, and we certainly don't have the room to eat. Take your coffees with you, if you please. Plates and hot food will be coming up on the pass through momentarily. Get yourselves comfortable. Grab some flatware on your way out, thank you." I shooed everyone out except Dan, handing them all forks, spoons, and butter knives, then pushing them gently but firmly into the living room. I grinned at Dan as I closed the door behind them and stole a kiss. "Mm, this is fun. We should tell Arin and Suzy though, later. Probably."

Dan laughed. "Yeah, I guess. It's still fun to watch them trying to figure out what the hell we're doing and why we're acting like this. Jesus, you'd think they would have guessed by now. It's not like we're trying to hide anything here." He walked close to me again and stole another kiss, just as Suzy popped her head back around the door frame. Neither of us noticed until we heard the noise she made, sounding like a startled squeaky toy. "Oh, uh hi Suz. Did you need something?"

"Yeah. I need the two of you to tell me what the hell is going on, like right now, if it's not too much trouble. Oh, and can I help out in here? That was actually what I came in for." Suzy crossed her arms and gave the two of is a long look. 

I glanced at Dan and smiled he grinned at me and shrugged. "You know how I feel about her Suz. Shit, you told me to go for it, more than once. So I did, apparently, last night. At least, I think I'm the one who made a move. I don't entirely remember."

I placed a hand on Dan's arm. "It doesn't really matter, Dan. But, yes, you made a move on me. You kissed me, right after I finished putting the food away." I sighed and leaned into him with a smile. Dan grinned and nodded. I chuckled when he wrapped both arms around me and hugged me closer. I rested my head against his for a second. "Anyway, we took the time to talk about things this morning, after the worst of our hangovers had started to clear away and agreed to go out. That was just before I started cooking breakfast. Then my friends from home showed up and Dan let them in, and you and Arin came over. I think that about covers everything. Am I missing any key points?" I looked at Dan.

He grinned. "Nothing too important. Other than that we slept together and want to keep doing so, as soon as we can chase everyone off again." I laughed and nodded. 

Suzy blinked slowly. "Oh. Wait, really? I thought the two of you were just messing with everyone." We looked at each other and shook our heads, smiling. Suzy broke out in a grin. "That's awesome. Wow." She came over and gave both of us a hug. "I'm really happy for both of you then. And Danny, I'm sorry for pushing you so hard about how you felt. I just know you really like [y/n] and I didn't want you to let her get away and be unhappy."

I smiled. "Hey, I like Dan a lot too. I'm actually glad you gave him enough of a push that he made a move, even if it was only because we were both drunk. It just brought our barriers down long enough for us to figure out we both had feelings for each other and take action. Now, Suzy, you put the fruit I cut up over on the pass through, next to this basket of muffins I'm giving Dan to carry. Dan, you can set them over there and put the butter, jam, and little plates next to them, please. Thanks sweetie."

Dan grinned at me. "Sure babe. I'll set the big plates next to the spot you have set up for the casserole dish too, and do you want the salsa next to that too?" I nodded. He grinned and stole one more fast kiss then headed over, arranging things for me while I worked on finishing the last of the hot food prep and took the frittata out of the oven and carried it over to the pass through, setting carefully on the cooling pad I had set up beside the basket of muffins. I set tongs in the muffins, spoons in the fruit, juice and glasses out, and put a spatula in the frittata then opened the doors to the pass through, so everyone in the living room could see into the kitchen and get their food now. Dan, still standing next to me, grabbed me by the waist, and grinned at everyone in the living room. "Come get your food everyone. Babe, do you need another cup of tea? I'm getting some more coffee, so I'll make you another one if you tell me what you want." I smiled and shook my head. Dan pressed a gentle kiss onto my forehead, but didn't move away, and I didn't move either, just watching our friends dishing out their food and settling back into seats. Arin was whispering to Suzy, gesturing to us, and Suzy was smiling and whispering back, calmly. After a few minutes, my stomach growled, so I grabbed a plate and filled it with what I wanted, grabbed some flatware, poured myself a cup of juice, and turned to Dan. He smiled as he finished dishing his own food, balancing his plate on his coffee cup, flatware in his other hand. I waited just on the other side of the door for him so we could sit together and cuddle. He chose the overstuffed armchair, making me frown for a second, until he set his cup and plate down, then pulled me down into his lap with a small chuckle and a kiss. I curled into him happily, being careful not to spill my food or drink on him and once I was settled, he picked his food back up and we both were able to eat without problems. 

Conversation was fun, if not loud, over our shared meal, and Dan and I flirted back and forth far more openly than we would have normally done, but we were both comfortable and having fun. Dan stole a number of kisses and couldn't seem to keep his hands to himself once he finished eating, setting his plate on the end table next to us and just holding his coffee in one hand and me with the other. I smiled and cuddled into him, enjoying the closeness, happy he was so relaxed and enjoying myself as well. Arin grinned at us after he finished eating. "Well, I guess we'll be seeing you around the Grump space more often now, right?"

I chuckled. "Maybe. If I can find the time, I'll definitely hang out. I mean, I want to spend more time with Dan and I know he's there a lot, but work takes a lot of my time, and Jack and Mark still hang out all the time, playing games, planning what they need to record, bumming food, and just generally spending time over here." I sighed. "You know this is the first weekend since I moved to LA I haven't had to work or had something else come up? Part of that's my own fault, especially since I've just started doing a side project of learning animations, and have my own channel, which is still pretty small. Still, I never thought any of this was going to be going on when I left my job as a videographer for that wedding company close to DC a few months ago."

Lia looked at me and shook her head. "Sweetie, you seem so different now. You're a lot happier for one thing, and a lot more confident. Both Greg and I have been worried you'd be holed up in your apartment, hiding from the world, going a little crazy, not talking to anyone, just spending all your time playing video games, cooking, and on the Internet."

I blushed as Arin, Suzy, and Dan all laughed. Dan kissed me softly. "She still does do all those things, all the time. That's why we like her. And Jack, Mark, and I just make sure she can't spend all her time hiding by herself. We drag her out to be social periodically, or just show up here and make her do stuff with us, so she can't get lonely or hide too much. She's too awesome just let her spend too much time by herself anyway." Dan smiled at me again softly. "I really like hanging out with her, as you might have figured out. And her cooking is amazing too, something we've all figured out for ourselves. We're just damn lucky she doesn't seem to mind feeding all of us so often."

I nodded and smiled up at Dan. "Yeah. I love feeding people. And I love hanging out with you too, handsome. You are a lot of fun. Jack and Mark are great guys too, and a lot of fun to play games with, so I feel lucky all of you like visiting me and watch out for me as much as you do." I cuddled in a little closer to Dan and gave him a hug. "Especially you."

Dan grinned and hugged me back, not letting me go. "Hey, I like watching out for you. You watch out for everyone else, so you need someone to look out for you too babe." Dan kissed my cheek gently and continued to hug me and snuggle with me. I sighed happily and closed my eyes. I could practically feel Dan's happiness radiating into me now as well, making me feel a deeper sense of joy and contentment. 

Suzy laughed softly. "You two are so sweet over there, it's almost too much. I can't believe I didn't catch on sooner. Neither of you are being subtle, at all, today either. I'm just happy to see the two of you this happy. Brian's going to want to talk to you [Y/N], I'm sure."

I opened my eyes and grinned. "That's fine. I like Brian. Besides, even when he does his silent ninja thing, it's not like he scares me." I looked at Dan and winked at him. "Maybe we should invite him, Audrey, and Rachel for dinner some night. What do you think Dan? Maybe on Saturday or Sunday night? Or do you and Brian need to work on recording then?"

Dan smiled at me. "Hmm, that sounds amazing. Whenever you want babe, we can manage, I'm sure. I'll call Brian up and we can schedule things around dinner. Actually, Brian will be happy you are including Rachel and Audrey so I doubt he's going to fuss about us working anyway." Dan stole another kiss with a smile. "God. You just make me so happy, sitting here in my lap, like this. I don't want to do anything else, all day today. I hope you didn't have any other plans for the day."

I grinned and laughed softly then leaned up and kissed him by his ear, whispering a comment as I did so. "None that didn't involve the two of us naked and in my bed or shower. I don't have anything planned all weekend, for once. You get me all to yourself, except for what time friends steal, but they are going to play second string to you, sexy. I want some one on one time with you, alone, this weekend, if you can spare the time away from recording and your music."

Dan swallowed, looked me in the eye, and nodded. I could feel him getting hard under me as his attention shifted, and I reveled in the sensations, biting back a moan as I nibbled and nipped at Dan's earlobes and neck again. Arin's laugh caught both of our attention, pulling us back into the present moment, making us remember we weren't alone in the room, and bringing a faint blush to my face. "Jeez, I hope the two of you aren't planning on jumping each other right here. Fuck man, have a little restraint. If you want us to leave, just ask." 

Dan swallowed again and looked over at Arin. "Yeah, that would be great, dude. Honestly, we just want to spend the day together, alone, if you catch my meaning. Sorry."

Arin laughed. "It's fine, bro. Shit, Suz and I have rushed you out the door more times than I can count so we could get busy, so it's not like we're going to complain. Um, Lia? Greg? Do the two of you want to plan on meeting back up with [y/n] tomorrow or something? Or maybe give her a call later? I think the rest of her day is pretty booked up right now. Do the two of you have a hotel room booked yet?" They nodded. Arin grinned. "Fan-fucking-tastic. Why don't you two go do some touristy type shit today. I'll make sure Danny leaves her alone at least one or two days before you leave, so you can hang out, and you can just catch up then. In fact, if you want, you can even come in and tour the Grump Space today." Arin grinned at Dan and I again. "I take it you won't be in today, Danny?"

Dan shook his head, kissing me again. I lifted a hand and stroked his cheek, then broke the kiss, gently. "Babe, if you need to work, go ahead. I can wait for you. Hell, I can even hang out with my friends for a few hours until your done, then come over to the Grump Space and bring you home with me. Work is important."

Dan grinned at me. "I know that, [y/n]. Trust me. Arin does too, and he's been on my ass for weeks, telling me I've been overworking. So I'm playing hooky with you today. I think it will do me a lot more good to take a day off and spend it with you, then try to go in and work and be as distracted as I would be if I went in anyway."

Arin laughed. "[Y/N], Danny's right. He absolutely does need a few days off, from both his music and recording for the Grumps. Don't let him come back in to work, or even look at work stuff until Monday, at the earliest, okay? We're counting on you. Get him all relaxed and happy, so he can focus when he comes back."

I blinked and my smiled brightened. Then I looked at Dan again and a wicked glint started in my eye. "Mmm, I think I can do that. He might be a little tired though, when you see him next. I'll try not to break him, and I'll make sure to keep him well fed and hydrated." 

Dan blinked, blushed slightly, and laughed. "Babe, you look like you have plans for me. I'm not sure why, but I'm a little afraid now." He leaned in closer and whispered in my ear, kissing my neck. "And very, very turned on. God, the look in your eye.." I chuckled, a deep, throaty sound, surprising him a little, earning a shift in position under me that let me feel exactly how much I was effecting him. 

Suzy shook her head at us. "On that note, I think we better go ahead and go. Come on Arin. Greg, Lia, do you want to come with us now too or are you going to say a fast goodbye and follow us in a few minutes? Bye guys, we'll see you real soon! Be safe and call us if you need anything. Oh, and Danny, don't forget to call your Mom soon." Suzy waved as she pushed Arin towards the door. Lia and and Greg hesitated just a second, then followed her, waving at me. I heard one of them call back to me something about texting me later, but I was too distracted by Dan's hands, which had started to roam my body as soon as everyone left the room and his mouth, which was on my shoulder, sucking a small hickey. The front door slamming broke me out of my state just enough for me to stop Dan for a minute.

"Dan, wait. Let me go lock the front door and put the rest of the food in the fridge. Or you go take care of the door and I'll go take care of the food. Then we can both go back to the bedroom and get naked again. And I _really_ want to get naked with you again, right now."

Dan blinked and nodded, letting me go. "You're right. You go clean up the food. I'll carry these plates in and lock the door. Then I'll meet you back in your bedroom and we can fuck each other into your mattress until both of us are satisfied. That sounds amazing, honestly." I smiled and nodded. Dan stole another kiss as he started clearing away the rest of the plates. After he carried the plates into the kitchen and set them all in the sink, he headed out to the front door and I saw him lock it before heading back toward the bedroom again. I put the food away as fast as I could and rinsed all the dishes enough to put them in the dishwasher and run it, then ran after him. I was still dressed only in my robe, so by the time I got back to my bedroom, I had slid the tie off and let it fall open. I peeked in the door. Dan was on the bed, already naked. I swallowed and stepped into the room, shedding the robe as I stepped through the door. He swallowed convulsively as he watched me walk closer. "Baby, you're so pretty, you just take my breath away. Damn." He reached out and suddenly pulled me into him. I went willingly, melting at his touch.

The rest of the day past in a haze of sex and cuddling, with a few showers, a break for food once or twice, and a few breaks to go get things to drink throughout the day thrown in. By around seven in the evening though, both of us had finally worn each other's sexual appetites out enough that we had finally managed to get dressed in real clothes and make our way back out to the living room. I was too tired to cook, so we had called in an order of Chinese delivery a few minutes ago and we were currently snuggling on the couch, just relaxing. Then there was a loud knock on the door. I groaned and stood up to go get it, hoping it was the food, but thinking it was too fast for them to have arrived. I had the money in my pocket, just in case, as I answered the door. I blinked in surprise to see Brian standing there instead, but quickly invited him in. "Hello Brian. Is everything okay?"

Brian looked at me. "I don't know. Is it? No one has heard from Danny all day, since this morning when he kicked Arin and Suzy out of your apartment. You look exhausted."

I shook my head. "Dan's in my living room. We're waiting for dinner. Arin told me to make sure he didn't even look at work stuff all day. Now everyone's worried because Dan listened? What the hell?!" I sighed and grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and offered one to Brian. He smiled crookedly and took one. I grabbed another for Dan and opened mine and Dan's then walked back out to Dan, settling in next to him again, cuddling close. Brian followed. 

Dan looked at me, smiling, took the beer, and gave me a kiss. "Thanks, babe. Hey, Brian. What's up? How was work today?"

Brian sat down and smiled looking at the two of us. "Okay, really? [Y/N] really got you this distracted in one day? Danny, I've never seen you lose focus over a woman like this before. You've always had more drive than anyone else I've ever met. This is honestly freaking me out a little. I feel like you two are pranking everyone or something."

Dan shook his head softly, his hair flopping in his face. I reached up and gently tucked it back out of the way, then stroked his cheek, unable to stop myself from touching him. Dan leaned into the touch, closing his eyes for a minute and sighing contentedly. When he reopened his eyes, he kissed my palm, grabbing my hand with both of his and holding onto it tightly. "Thanks babe." He looked over at Brian again. "No, this isn't a prank. We've both been dancing around these feelings for a while, just without telling each other. Last night we were both drunk enough to act on them, finally, and then we talked it over this morning, after we had both sobered up. Neither of us realized quite how deeply we cared for each other until now either. It kind of just caught both of us by surprise."

I leaned into Dan side and kissed him softly. He smiled brightly at me, melting into it. "Hmm. Definitely a surprise, but a good one. I'm sorry if it's upsetting you, Brian. I didn't mean to drag Dan away from work today. I promise, he'll be back, and focused, Monday, bright and early, or he'll have to deal with me." I looked at Dan with a grin. "And I'm damn scary. Besides, I think I'll have worn him out enough he'll be ready for a break by then. Now, I was going to have Dan call you this evening and invite you and Rachel over for dinner, with Audrey too, of course, either tomorrow night or Sunday night. Do either of those nights work for you guys? You won't have to cook or anything, I promise. I'll make something homemade. I might even get Dan to assist me with the food prep."

Brian blinked at me. "Uh... Let me text her and see. As far as I know, either one works for us. Jeez, I feel a little bad. I was coming over here, all ready to be all angry and threatening and everything, and you're being reasonable and nice. It's throwing me off my game."

I laughed. "Go ahead and text her. Oh, and just so you know, I'm not afraid of your 'Ninja Brian' death stares either. Like I said, I'm _MUCH_ scarier."

Dan hugged me. "I have trouble believing that, babe."

I winked at him. "Just don't make me mad. You'll be fine. It's not easy to do anyway, but once I'm really, truly, _actually_ angry? I either freeze people with a look or it looks like my skin is smoking because I'm white-hot and incandescently enraged. I had someone actually ask me if I was going to burst into flames because I was so angry once. And once I'm actually angry it takes me forever to actually calm back down too, like days, in some cases. So just make sure you don't get me to that point, okay? I really don't like the way it makes me feel after, all guilty, ashamed, and anxious. I have some issues with panic and anxiety attacks that we'll have to address someday."

Dan looked at me, wide eyed for a few seconds. "Shit, that sucks. I had no idea. I'll definitely try not to piss you off, sweetie. Besides, I like making you happy, not angry. You make me feel good, so I want to do the same for you." Dan kissed me, where my shoulder and neck joined, very gently, a look in his eyes that looked like love to me. I sighed happily and returned the look, just wordlessly sharing happiness and deep feelings with him while Brian texted back and forth with his wife. After a few minutes he looked back over at us and grinned. Dan noticed first. "What? Were we bugging you somehow?"

Brian laughed. "No, not really. You guys are just really cute together. And apparently Rachel told Audrey about coming over for dinner. You want to hear what she said?" Dan nodded. "She said, and I'm quoting now, 'Tell Uncle Danny and his new girlfriend they better make some gooder food than the last time we visited. I want cookies. And she better be nice.' So I guess Audrey is the one you'll have to impress, [Y/N]. Rachel said any night she doesn't have to cook would be great, and she looks forward to meeting you too."

I blushed. "Duly noted." I looked at Dan with a small smile. "How about tomorrow night then. I'll make homemade spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, and red sauce from scratch. Does anyone have any food allergies I should be aware of?" Brian shook his head. I smiled a little bright and leaned into Dan's side. "Okay then. Oh, and ask Audrey if she'd rather have cupcakes or cookies. I can make either one for her. Triple chocolate banana cookies, or raspberry and banana creme angel food cupcakes with chocolate filling and frosting."

Brain grinned and sent the text. Then burst out laughing when his phone started ringing immediately. He picked up as soon as he stopped laughing. "Hello? Hi, Audrey. Yes, Daddy is talking to Uncle Dan and his new girlfriend. Yes, she does seem nice. You want to talk to her? Okay, just a minute." Brian grinned and handed me the phone. "She wants to talk to you. I think she wants to approve the menu."

I nodded. "Of course." I put the phone on speaker and held it up so I could see her, then waved a little, still leaning against Dan. "Hello. You must be Audrey. Dan was telling me about you."

Audrey looked at me closely, then at Dan. "Hi Uncle Danny! Is she really your girlfriend?"

Dan laughed softly. "Yep. That's why we're cuddling like this on her couch, babe. Her name is [Y/N], and she's awesome. She lives really close by too."

Audrey blinked, then looked confused for a few seconds, and nodded. "Okay. Has Uncle Arin and you talked about her before?" 

Dan nodded softly. "She lives in the same apartment building as we do. And she hangs out with us a lot. She's our friend."

Audrey smiled. "Good." She looked at me again, a lot more friendly this time. "Daddy mentioned cookies or cupcakes?"

I chuckled softly. "Yeah, he did. I asked him to ask which you would rather have me make, triple chocolate banana cookies, or raspberry and banana creme angel food cupcakes with chocolate filling and frosting. I'm making spaghetti, meatballs, and garlic bread for dinner tomorrow for you guys. I though maybe you'd like to help pick out the dessert."

Audrey grinned hugely. "Well, they both sound yummy. You should make both. Mommy likes chocolate a lot. It's her favorite." I nodded, my eyes sparkling with suppressed laughter. "Well, I have to go. Mommy says I need a bath. Bye. Night Uncle Danny! Bye Daddy! See you when you get home!"

Brian too the phone back, taking it off speaker, and telling her goodbye for now. Dan rubbed my back, smiling happily at me. I leaned into his touch, closing my eyes, and smiling, just as happily. When Brian finally hung up he laughed. "Okay, you're good, I'll grant you that. You managed to win her over too. So far you've won all of us over. We're still going to be watching you. If you hurt Dan, we're going to come after you, just so you know that now."

I opened my eyes and looked over at him, an expression of honesty and sincerity in my eyes now. "I wouldn't do that to him. I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me, I swear. I'm not messing with anyone's feelings or anything else. Jesus Christ, what kind of bitch do you think I am?" I shivered and shrank into myself a little, fighting back insecurities and lifelong voices in my head, telling me I was worthless, pathetic, unlovable, and a mistake. I could feel the tears threatening as my anxiety started to spike and I shivered in Dan's arms suddenly.

Dan looked at me closely. "Babe? Are you okay? Babe? What's going on with you? Oh, sweetheart, shh..." Dan hugged me tight as the tears started silently sliding down my cheeks. I burrowed my face into his chest, trying to calm down. He held me close and ran soothing hands down my hair, whispering softly to me, sweet words of gentle comfort, trying to help me as best he could, reassuring me that he didn't think I was playing with him, or that I could do that to anyone for that matter. I felt myself slowly calm back down, under his touch and care, but I had lost all track of time and had no idea how long I had been curled into him like that for. When I was finally able to stop the tears completely, and push the panic aside, I lifted my head again and looked into his eyes. Dan smiled a crooked smile at me. "Don't scare me like that babe. I don't know what to do to help you when things like that happen."

I leaned up and met his lips, kissing him sweetly. "That was exactly what I needed, Dan. Thank you, so much, you sexy man." I closed my eyes, feeling exhausted and I started drifting towards sleep. "Mm. I love you."

"What?" Dan went still under me, making me snuggle in closer. "Babe, what did you just say?" I didn't answer him, mainly because I was already sound asleep in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay -- quick note on this fiction. It will NOT be regularly updated. Sorry, but it's just not a priority. It's just going to be when the mood strikes or a particular plot bunny won't leave me alone. So it's going to be very erratic, but it won't be completely abandoned either, probably. That said, this is not at all where I thought this particular plot bunny was going to go when it started, but some of these bunnies are damn slippery little buggers so... Yeah... Enjoy. XD
> 
> (And Merry Christmas!!)
> 
> Does anyone want to see this one developed into it's own story? Or maybe just a second part to it? It's already longer than I thought it was gonna be, but whatever...


	4. Fairy Lights Dancing Between The Stars  --( Story start )

The two beings stared quietly up at the night sky, perched on the edge of the string, their tiny bodies glowing faintly in the moonlight. They knew it was a risk, coming out this far into the human world, without using a glamour to disguise their appearance, but both of them were young and daring, more bold than brainy, if you asked the elders. The female turned her head toward her companion, who glowed a faint blue-green where he sat, and directed a thought his way [Do you suppose the humans know how beautiful all this truly is? The stars, hanging like jewels in the inky darkness, the gentle flow of that wondrous music they have managed to create, and all those incredible colors and foods they make?]

Her companion looked over at her, turning away from the stars for the moment, studying her pale violet white light before he slowly answered. [Some of them seem to. I do not understand them. Only a few seem to really see the beauty of the world around them, and many of them are saddened by it. They take no joy in life, seeing only pain and despair at every turn. They seem to have lost their inner peace.]

The female sprite nodded sadly. [That's true. Many humans are sad, more than they should be for all the wonder and light they have created, despite all the dark they do as well. But every force must be balanced. Do they not understand this? That is why there are dark forces in the universe to begin with, to show the light and let it shine all the brighter. Some places shiny so brightly the darkness is mere shadows and is celebrated the way the light is in the places darkness is the norm.]

Her male companion nodded. [We know this well. Perhaps it it something humans don't know, deep inside, when they are created. It might explain some of their behaviors. We assume they are very like us, for all that they look so different, bear no wings or light, and live such short lives. It must be frightening to be so full of unknowns and fear, if that's truly the case. How do they function?]

The female sprite tilted her head down, looking at the human party-goers passing beneath her feet, and pondered the question, her brow furrowing in thought. [That's a question for the elders, if it's even true. We're assuming the way these humans think and feel. We came here tonight to observe them and watch the stars. I suggest we get back to it, before we miss something important.] With a nod of assent, her companion tipped his face back up to the stars, mesmerized by the beauty before him once more. She turned her attention back to the party, hoping to spot an interesting human or two she could watch and learn more about for a few hours. 

What she found surprised her greatly, there, just below her, was a tall, pale, heavy-set woman, with long dark hair, piercing dark eyes that shone brightly and saw clearly, reflecting far more than the moonlight, appearing to stare directly up at her and her small companion. The sprite nearly flinched and flew away before she forced herself to stay still, knowing very few humans could see any type of magical being anymore and even fewer could spot a fairy when they weren't causing mischief. The woman's eyes never left the two sprites as she walked around the small gathering, collecting a small plate of food and a drink, then settling herself on the very edge of the garden wall, barely part of the festivities still. The sprite was intrigued, to say the least. Who was this woman? Could she really see the fairies? Why was she not joining the rest of the party? As the night continued and the party wore on, most of the guests moved inside. The woman never moved from her perch and people seemed to have forgotten about her, mostly. Her eyes stayed locked on the sky or the fairies, much to the sprite's dismay. Finally, after all but a few people had ventured inside, the woman stood up and walked over to the string of lights, standing directly below the two tiny beings. Then she spoke softly, in Old English. The fairies blinked in surprise, as they understood her quite clearly. [[Hello, little ones. What are you doing out tonight? Are your elders not worried about you?]]

Both sprites flushed, their glows brightening momentarily as their embarrassment flared. The male coughed and returned to normal first. [[Milady, how do you see us? So few humans can see magic, we must know.]]

The woman smiled, a small, slightly sad expression. [[Can't the two of you tell? Have your elders not trained you how to see the old blood in humans yet? Or am I really that weak?]] She sighed and looked down.

The female sprite gasped. [[You have magical ancestors? But the elders told us no humans still survived who bore signs of that and few were even alive who could see us any longer.]]

The woman looked up again, something sharper in her gaze now. [[Your elders were wrong. There aren't many of us, it's true, but a few of us have managed to be born into the bloodlines. I thought... Nevermind what I thought. The pact was made so long ago...]]

The two fairies exchanged looks, confused and bewildered by the sudden change of subject. The male spoke up first again, gentleness in his tone. [[What pact, lady?]]

The woman stared up at the two, arms crossed. [[The blood pact stating those of us with magic must be trained when we are old enough. There is no one to train me. I am calling on the pact now, requesting the fey train me. I can't continue as I am now, barely controlling my powers. You saw how things were tonight, yes?]] The two sprites exchanged confused looks again and shook their heads. The woman sighed. [[No one here has been able to see or hear me for most of the evening. Unless they brushed against me, no one knew I existed at this party, which was being thrown to celebrate _MY_ birthday. How can that be? Even my parents forgot.]] She looked down, sorrow clear on her face, in her body language.

The female sprite was shocked. That was a glamour stronger than any even the elders could throw. She stared open-mouthed for a moment, then cleared her throat. [[Can you cast that on other people? That forgetting?]] The woman looked up, sadly, and nodded. The sprite blinked. [[What else can you do?]]

The woman shivered. [[I can create lights and control who sees them. I can cast circles that others cannot cross or escape from and barriers to protect and shield myself or others. I can summon objects, make them float or fly, and change the appearance of an object from one thing to another.]] She closed her eyes for a moment and made a small noise as she took a few steps off the ground. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing with magic, silver and gold swimming endlessly, lighting the chocolate brown irises and filling them with a multitude of magnificent stars. The fairies were shocked. They had never heard of a human learning to fly without wings. The male sprite looked at his female companion in confusion.

She bit her lip as she thought, trying to decide how to handle this confusing human best. Clearly she needed an elder's help, but could she just show up with this human in tow? Would the elders tolerate such a breach of normal tradition? And what about this pact the lady was claiming she had a blood and birthright to? Did the fey really have to train her? She was clearly exceptionally powerful, far more powerful than any magic user the young sprite had ever encountered, and she shuddered to think what could happen if this lady remained untrained for long. Magic tended to break out, away from the control of the wielder, especially if they weren't given good training, in the early part of their magical life. Either way, the elders needed to know about her, and fast. They would no doubt need to contact the elves and dwarves who lived close by for assistance too. If the lady was a strong as the sprite suspected, the fey might even need to contact the dragon realms and summon a dragon to train her, possibly to bring her back with them until she was fully educated as well, for everyone's safety. But would the lady's glamour hold that long? Would people start to wonder where she went? The sprite was terribly confused. This really needed older and wiser heads than hers. [[Wait here please. Oh, and can you please cast that glamour you used to hide on me? I need to go contact my elders, hopefully to bring them back with me.]]

The lady bit her lip and nodded, looking worried as she waved a hand. As soon as she felt the spell settle, the female sprite flew off, making it back to her home in mere moments. The village elders were less than pleased with her, but listened to her story, particular the part about the lady with the magic. They could sense the foreign spell, the power behind it, and the raw, untamed nature of the wielder. The two head elders spoke up after the sprite finished speaking. [You were right to come back and tell us about this person. She will bear watching indeed. Go and bring her back please young one. You, go and fetch the elves. And someone fetch a representative of the dwarves. They will need to be here for this as well, if she is as they have claimed.]

The female sprite nodded slowly, bowing her head. The village murmured, the appointed messengers flying off at tops speeds to return with the requested allies. Meanwhile, the sprite returned to the party and watched her companion and the lady, both watching the stars, an odd pair, but somehow the same. The sprite smiled. [[The elders request you return with us, immediately, lady. Will you come away?]]

The woman stood up and nodded. [[A moment please. I must leave a note, in case anyone does happen to remember me suddenly. I will simple state I am away at school, not an implausible excuse at my age, and add a strong memory to the note that they sent me away to that very school. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

And that's as far as I had so far. Anyone interested in more?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really not sure where the idea for this came from. It just came to me and wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to dump it off somewhere. Here yu go guys.


	5. Chapter 5: AU -- Plot Divergence #3 OOSOC (On The Other Side Of The Camera) Mark  (Part 1)*

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Mark date. Jack and Danny are basically your adopted brothers now, since you are dating Mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This plotline would pick up just after the first convention, before the guys leave leave for the next one and the grump party weekend.

The week after we got back from the convention was set to be another busy one, with Jack and Mark both recording extra videos for another convention coming up the following weekend. In fact, they were both scheduled to leave on Thursday, in the early afternoon, so they were planning to record at least three videos a day from now until then, every day, around filming the show. I sighed when they told me this, thinking how much extra editing this would mean but knowing none of us wanted to have an issue, especially now, right after the announcement of the TV show, when interest in both the channels and the show was at its peak. So on Monday morning, bright and early, I drove Jack in to work as usual, stopping at the cafe across from the office to place an enormous order for the entire office. I also got myself two extra large cups of tea to go and a danish this morning. Jack got himself some coffee and a breakfast sandwich. I had everything charged to our corporate account and asked that the rest of the food be delivered around nine thirty. Then Jack and I headed in and settled in. I stopped in my office first, making notes for my crew and several other people, to leave on their desks or as sticky notes on their doors before heading to my booth between the two recording studios. Jack was just about to start. I asked him what his plans for the day were, jotting down notes and gave him a thumbs up when the equipment was ready, helping him get the levels adjusted and the first recording underway, a new Subnautica video. I listened and made notes for about twenty minutes after he started the video, sipping my tea and nibbling my danish as I worked, then popped my head out the door into the hallway, seeing a light come on. Mark had just come in.

Mark smiled at me when I came back to his office to greet him. "Good morning, Mark. How are you doing this morning? Jack's already in working on his first video and I ordered a bunch of food from the cafe across the street, but it won't be here for a little while. In the mean time, I can put on some coffee for you if you want while we figure out your recording plans for today, or even the rest of the week."

Mark smiled and nodded. "Good morning to you too, [Y/N]. You're looking particularly energized this morning. Are you ready to tackle this week? I know we are going to be working you pretty hard. I apologize in advance." 

I smiled back at him. "Hey, I'll be fine. You guys should just remember I have some extra videos already banked for both of you too, so you don't have to kill yourselves, trying to get ahead. I mean, I don't want anything to go wrong, especially right now, so I understand the push, but just keep it in mind and don't overdo it, okay? I mean, if you can't get all three videos done every single day, don't stress too much. I have enough backups we can definitely get through without a problem without them, at least until after the convention next week. It would eat into the schedule a little if anything came up right away after that, but sometimes things happen, and I think the fans would understand if it was an emergency. I just hate to use all our backups if we can keep the buffer ahead without killing the two of you."

Mark grinned. "Hey, you keep us much better managed with that then I ever did. The videos actually get out on time every day, which is a lot more then I managed on my own, and the editing is much tighter. Matt has said you've been doing a lot of my editing too, since he's been focusing so much on the Kids with Problems and SuperMega channels lately. I have to thank you for that. Actually, I probably ought to publicly acknowledge you, in a video, for doing that for me. Hmm." Mark rubbed his chin for a few seconds. "That gives me an idea. Would you mind being in a video with me today? I have a challenge video I wanted to do, and I need a second person for it anyway. If we film it first, we can be done before you would need to start anyone else's editing, then you could come back here right away with that video and get a jump on the editing for the day, starting with that video. Ideally, I'd like it to go up as the second video of the day today, or the first video of the day tomorrow, if you can't get it out in time today."

I sighed, bit my lip, then crossed my arms, and looked at him. "What's the challenge, before I agree to this idea, Mark? I'm not going to just blindly say yes to anything you know. I have two brothers."

Mark laughed. "Hey! It's nothing bad. It's a Disney song challenge."

I laughed. "Well, alright then. I can do that." I smiled at Mark. "I was afraid you were going to challenge me to do something ridiculous, or quite frankly, dangerous, like a pepper eating contest. You have no idea what kind of heat I can or can't handle and one of us could end up getting seriously hurt that way." I mentally grinned, knowing it would definitely not be me. 

Mark chuckled. "Yeah, okay, I can see why you might want to see what I was going to ask before you agreed blindly. But wouldn't ever do anything to intentionally hurt you." Mark suddenly blushed bright as a tomato and he clamped both hands over his mouth, then tried to bury his face in his hands. I raised an eyebrow at him, curious about his reaction. "Forget I said that, please."

I just looked at him. "Mark? What exactly did you mean? I don't peg you as the kind of guy to ever intentionally hurt anyone. But based on your reaction just now, you meant something more than that. Can you please explain it a little more?"

Mark fidgeted, looking at the floor, and kicked the carpet with his toe. "Um, I'd really rather not right now. I don't want to make things weird between us when we have so much work to do."

I gave him a steady look. "Mark, not answering is going to make it a lot weirder, trust me. My brain is going to spin it into something I doubt you meant it as. Please just tell me. I can handle hearing whatever it is, good, bad, or otherwise. I promise to stay as professional at work as ever. If I'm too weirded out, I'll keep it strictly outside the office, okay?"

Mark blushed and looked at me, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, I'll tell you, but on two conditions. First, we have to go into your office and lock the door. Second, you have to let me finish talking before you react, okay?"

I nodded slowly. Whatever this was, Mark was clearly worked up. I followed Mark into my office and put the sign up that signaled I was in an editing session, planning session, or out of my office and couldn't be disturbed right now, closing and locking the door behind us, then followed Mark over to the couch and sat down beside him. Mark looked a little pale for a few seconds, then he smiled tightly at me. I grabbed his hand, squeezed it encouragingly, and smiled at him. "Hey, calm down. Whatever you're about to say can't be that bad. Just take a deep breath and go slow. I'm pretty understanding."

Mark smiled back at me. "Thanks [Y/N]. That actually helps a lot. What I want to say is... I mean, I... Listen, I like you a lot. A whole lot. God, why does this feel like I'm back in middle school?" Mark ran a hand through his hair, making the red floof stand on end for a few seconds before it settled back into place, looking down at the floor with a huge sigh. "Sorry. My head's a mess. Let me try this again. Give me a second to collect my thoughts here." I nodded. Mark swallowed and collected his thoughts. I gave his hand a quick squeeze of encouragement, not sure what he was going to say, exactly, my heart hammering painfully with nerves and hope. Mark glanced over at me, then caught my eye and looked deep into my eyes, seeming spellbound by something he saw there. I couldn't look away either. Suddenly, he was turning toward me, leaning close, his whole body language changed from nervous and anxious to relaxed, calm, and somehow happy just being close to me. I smiled at him and he smiled back right away. The remaining tension in his shoulders eased away, ebbing into nothing. The he did something I never expected. He closed the remaining distance between us completely and kissed me, soft and sweet, right on the lips. I blinked and for a full five seconds was too stunned to react, then I melted into the kiss, returning it. Mark sighed again, this time with relief. When he pulled back he was all smiles. "Babe..."

I blushed a little, grinning at him. "I take it that was what you were trying to talk to me about? That you wanted to kiss me?" Mark nodded. I leaned over onto his shoulder. "Well, I have to say, I like the idea, a lot. You're amazing Mark."

Mark grinned at me. "So will you go out with me?" I nodded. Mark whooped and jumped up. I chuckled softly and stood up, hugging him, trying to get him to calm down and focus again, reminding him we were still at work and needed to go get his videos recorded for the day. He grinned and danced around with me in his arms for a few seconds anyway. "In a minute, babe. I'm too excited you said yes to sit still!" 

I laughed. "Jeez. Calm down a little, Mark. Remember, we need to play it cool on the video, if you still want to record with me. I want to appear professional in front of the camera after all. No one else needs to know we're dating for a while, especially since we haven't actually been on even one date yet. I don't want to be accused of using you to get famous or cause you a lot of extra fan noise right now. You're busy enough with other things at the moment."

Mark nodded and leaned over, kissing me again, very gently. "Yeah, I am and so are you. Thanks for thinking this through. I definitely still want to record with you. You deserve the credit for all the work you've been doing to help me behind he scenes. Honestly, I should have done this sooner. I'll try to behave on camera. Maybe if we get too flirty you can cut some of it out? I mean, if it's too obnoxious, obviously we would have to scrap the whole video, and you can definitely leave a little bit of it in. I don't want the eventual announcement to be a total surprise, when I do make it. And I will make a video announcement at some point. Actually, I'll probably say something at the convention this weekend, that I've started dating someone recently, but that we are both going to keep it private for the moment. The guys might try to call or text you to see if you have any details."

I laughed. "Of course they will. They know I know everything about everyone around here. But I keep my mouth shut anyway. Don't worry. I certainly won't say anything yet, unless you want to tell them. That's completely up to you. I don't want to lie to people though, especially not to Dan and Jack. I mean, I'm really close to them too, and I don't want to hurt them."

Mark raised his eyebrows at me. "How close are we talking babe? Should I be jealous? Did one of them almost beat me to the punch?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I never really thought about it too much. I mean, until we all went to the convention together last weekend, I never even considered any of you might like me as more than friends. Truthfully? I kind of feel more like Jack and Dan are brothers then anything else at this point." I shook my head. "But I hadn't thought too deeply about any of my feelings, really. Like I said, I care for all three of you, but it's a different feeling for them than it is for you somehow." I smiled softly as I looked at him. "I think I'm making the right choice."

Mark blew out a breath. "Well that's a relief. I would hate to think I was somehow competing with the two of them. Both of them are my friends and I don't want to screw that up. Besides, both of them are very sexy men."

I raised a hand. "Hey! I wouldn't come between the three of you like that anyway. I'd rather just step aside and say all three of you should just date other people then let myself be the cause of the end of your friendship, or even a fight like that. Especially not without talking to all three of you first. That would be a total bitch move on my part and I'm just not that kind of person." I bit my lip and looked down, worried Mark might somehow think I was really capable of that kind of thing.

Mark hugged me. "Oh my god, I didn't mean to imply you were, sweetheart! Shit. I didn't even think of that. Jesus. Come here." Mark kissed me again, lingering this time a little longer then any of the previous kisses, tipping my head back as he pulled me in close to his body. I was panting softly when we finally broke for air and so was Mark, but both of us were smiling now. I felt almost dizzy from the shift in my feelings and how fast this was actually happening. Mark looked like I had sucker punched him, emotionally. His eyes were slightly unfocused as he looked at me now. I reached a hand up and stroked his cheek, which managed to bring both of us back to earth. Mark chuckled. "Holy shit babe. Did you feel that too?" I nodded. Mark smiled at me. "That was incredible. You kiss like no one else I've ever met before. Damn. I think you just melted a few brain cells. Whew." Mark blew out a sigh. 

I grinned at him. "Hmm. I wonder if the fans are going to notice a difference? Come on loverboy, we need to keep you on schedule and both of us have a lot to do today. Neither one of us have time to spend the day just making out in here, no matter how lovely that sounds."

Mark grinned back at me. "That does sound like fun. Actually spending time alone with you is always fun. I can't wait to get you all to myself. Hey, do you have any plans tonight, after work? Maybe we could both go out for some dinner together, someplace nice, my treat. I know both of us are going to be dead on our feet after all the work we have, so I'm not saying it's a date, so don't worry about getting all dressed up or anything. Just some decent food after a long, hard day of overworking."

I nodded. "Sounds good, Mark. I have to drive Jack home, unless he can get a ride home from Bob or Wade, but other than that, my night is pretty clear tonight. I'm all yours."

Mark wrapped his arms around my waist for a minute and hugged me close one more time, kissed me quickly, just a fast peck on the lips, then let me go. "Let's get moving then. The faster we get the videos recorded, the faster we can be done with this part of the day and move on to other things." I sighed and nodded, grabbing my second cup of tea and followed Mark down the hall. He stopped in his office just long enough to grab a few things before he stepped into his recording booth. I stepped in after him and told him to start getting set up for the video, setting my things down. I headed for my booth, checking in on Jack's progress before I got wrapped up in helping Mark for the day. Jack had just finished recording the Subnautica video and his short reading comments video and was taking a short break. I smiled and told him I was going to be recording with Mark, at his request. Jack grinned at me. "That's a brilliant idea, lass! After ye finish filming with Mark today, would ye mind filming with me?" 

I sighed. "Jack, I have a lot of editing to do today, between the two of you. Can we wait to record whatever video you wanted to do until tomorrow? Then we can have the chance to actually plan it out a little bit after I finish up with Mark, too. He wants to do a Disney song challenge with me and introduce me as his editor on his channel."

Jack nodded enthusiastically, his eyes glowing as he thought about what he wanted to do. "Sure lass. This will give me tha chance ta plan while ye work. Go on, Mark is waiting. I'll head in ta ye're office when I get this video finished and start brainstorming for tomorrow or get a bit of tha editing underway. See ye in a bit. And thank ye for all tha help with everything, lass. Ye've been a rock star lately. Ye deserve a lot more credit then ye've been getting. Mark's right, it is time, and past, ta introduce ye ta tha fans as tha wonder editor ye are. Now, scamper off. Ye've got work ta do, and so do I."

I laughed. "Yeah, we do. This week is hell week. But once we get through Thursday, we can relax. We've all earned a little bit of a break, I think."

Jack grinned. "Like ye ever take a proper break. What are ye planning on doing this weekend while we're away? Anything fun and relaxing, or are ye just going ta throw yerself inta more work around ye apartment and bury yerself in our social media all weekend? Am I goin ta have ta send Danny over ta make sure ye actually socialize a bit and don't just hole up and work yerself inta a stupor?"

I blushed. "JAAACK! I'm not _THAT_ bad. And you and Mark are going to be busy with the con, so you might not have much time to answer your socials. I do promise to try to spend at least a little time away from my computer this weekend though, if it will make you feel better. Now, I'm off to record with Mark for a while. You better finish up in here too. I'll see you back in my office in a while. Do you need anything else before I head out?"

Jack smiled softly at me. "Not really. See ye in a bit. Have fun with Mark. Make sure ta destroy him." 

I giggled and smirked. "I plan to. He has no idea what he's gotten himself into yet." I gave Jack a little finger wave as I left his studio again, heading back through my booth over to Mark's. Mark was just about finished setting up, so I dragged my chair over from my booth and settled in next to him, making sure I was out of the line of the camera to start and helped Mark sync the camera and audio. 

As soon as he finished he launched into his intro. "Hello everybody. My name is Markiplier. And today I have a special guest who will be joining me for this video. But before we get started, I want to properly introduce her to all of you. Some of you may have seen her at the videos that came out from the panel from the convention last weekend, that I was at with Wade, Bob, and Jack. In fact, there's even a panel that we did together that she was a part of, announcing a new project all of us are working on together that she's part of. So without further delay, here she is. [Y/Y/N], come on over." I blushed and rolled on camera, ducking my head until I got comfortably positioned. Mark smiled as he watched me. "Thanks for joining me."

I nodded, still blushing. "Sure Mark. Um. Anytime."

Mark grinned bigger. "Oh, don't tell me that. I'll be dragging you in here all the time. You'll never get all your other work done."

I smiled back at him and laughed softly, my eyes twinkling. "Oh really? I think I still might. Even if you and Jack do both try to bury me in editing fairly regularly."

Mark laughed and turned back to the camera. "As [Y/Y/N] just implied, she's the magician who edits all JackSepticEye's and my videos lately, or a huge portion of them. We're busy working on filming the new television show, which she's also part of the team for, even if she spends most of her time working on editing and the YouTube side of things right now because that's what we all need the help with more. She comes over and helps with the cameras and special effects whenever we need her there and is actually in charge of that whole department for the show, and she works really, really hard around here. I decided it was way past time to make a proper introduction on my channel for her, so everyone could meet one of the biggest behind the scenes contributors to getting me back onto a regular schedule. You guys have been telling me how much better the upload schedule has been? Well, that's all thanks to her. She's been in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly for me for several months now. She's also been helping me stay on top of social media a little better, so if you see her name, know that I'll get the message passed along to me if I need to know about it, and that if you give her crap, I'll find out. She's going to be around just as much as I am guys, be nice."

I smiled and looked into the camera. "I'm pretty friendly so come say hi, if you see me lurking around, but if you say something mean, expect to be banned. I don't put up with bullying, of me or anyone else. You will only get one warning, if I'm feeling particularly forgiving. If I get a lot of grief, I won't even give warnings out, I'll just perma-ban accounts and flag them as abusive. Jack told me a little while ago he's going to have me come record an introduction to his viewers as well, so I'll tell them the same thing. Just remember to be nice and you'll be fine. I'm not a bitch." I looked down, feeling a little shaky.

Mark smiled at me, and reached over, squeezing my hand, reassuringly. I looked into his eyes, and my momentary doubts were forgotten, unable to withstand the reassurance and friendship I saw Mark offering me, and what looked an awfully lot like love from where I was sitting. I blinked back tears a few times and squeezed his hand back, making him smile a little bigger. Mark suddenly leaned forward and cupped my cheek in his hand. "Hey, are you okay sweetheart? You look a little shaken up."

I bit my cheek and leaned into his hand, just savoring the warm contact and closed my eyes, trying to pull myself together. "I'll be fine, Mark. I..." I sighed, trailing off. "I had a rough childhood and young life. Sometimes I get a little triggered, that's all."

Mark's hand gently stroked my cheek, making me quiver. I opened my eyes to see him staring intently at me, an expression of deep sadness in his eyes. "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you, babe. Anytime, day or night. I mean it." I nodded, leaning into his touch a little more, craving something, but I wasn't sure what. Mark smiled softly then leaned the rest of the way forward and kissed me, soft as a whisper, stealing the breath from my lungs and making me dizzy in the best way. I clung to him, my hands grabbing his shoulders, deepening the kiss without thinking about it. Neither of us remembered we where we were, that we were recording, or even what we were supposed to be doing until Jack suddenly came over and tapped us on the shoulders. Mark let me go immediately, but I was more reluctant, still holding onto Mark like a lifeline, trying to regain my senses. Both Mark and I looked up at Jack a little guiltily. Mark started talking first. "Jack we-"

Jack grinned at the two of us. "Save yer apologies Mark. Jaysus. [Y/N] is an adult woman and can make her own choices. Clearly she was just as inta ye as ye were inta her. I actually only came inta her booth ta check on something and saw what was going on from on there. I just thought ye might want a bit of a warning, since ye are both at work still, that anyone could still see ye and walk in on ye, before ye both lose yer heads and do something ye both might regret later." Jack winked at the two of us. "I can't say I'm not a little disappointed ta see this though. I was hoping ta make a move on ye myself, lass."

I blushed bright and squirmed in Mark's arms, scooting a little closer to him. He looked at me, then smiled. I tucked my head into his chest. "This isn't going to cause a problem is it? I care for you too, Jack, a lot, but not really the same way." 

Jack shook his head. "Nah. Mark's my best friend, lass. If he made a move first, fair play ta him. I don't poach. Besides, I'd rather keep ye as a friend than lose ye altogether."

I smiled. "Yeah, I definitely want you as a friend. You and Dan are probably my best friends out here in LA. You're more like brothers even."

Jack smiled hugely. "I like that. Ye're like a sister ta me too. An adopted sister. So Mark, if ye screw this up, ye'll have ta deal with me, ye hear that?" Mark swallowed and nodded. Jack grinned happily. "Now, I'm headed back ta yer office lass. Think ye can keep yer mind on recording this time? Or do ye nee ta come back with me ta work on editing with me?" 

I blushed. "We can behave. I'll have to cut all this out anyway. Jesus Christ." Jack laughed, patted my shoulder, grabbed something from my booth, and headed back through his studio. I sighed and turned back to Mark. "Okay, focus. No more kisses for a while, no matter how wonderful they are."

Mark blushed, smiled, and nodded. "Agreed. And they are wonderful. I just can't believe we got caught already."

I chuckled. "I can. At least Jack was nice about it. Now, do you want to scrap this video and start over?" Mark nodded. We rerecorded his intro and the introduction he had given me to his fans and channel. Before we could stray off topic again, I gently guided him back to the main topic of the video, the song challenge. "So, Mark, what are we actually doing today? I mean, why did you invite me to come record with you, other than to introduce me to your lovely audience? Didn't you say something to me about a challenge?"

Mark chuckled. "Indeed I did, [Y/Y/N]. Indeed I did. But first, I think we should decide on a prize. Nothing too high stakes, of course. Hmm, loser has to..."

I grinned evilly. "Loser has to cook the winner's favorite meal and serve it to them on camera, with no help." 

Mark paled. "Shit. Alright, if you think you're up for that." I smirked and nodded, knowing there was next to no chance Mark was going to win. He just had no idea yet. "So let me tell you how this is going to work. I have an app that will pull up a Disney movie. We will each have five seconds to name a song, going back and forth, from the movie. For each correct song title, we get one point, five points if we can sing a few lines. Ten points if it's more obscure, but still counts. Sound fair?" 

I nodded and laughed. "Prepare to have your butt handed to you, big boy. You have no idea what you just got yourself into. How many points are we playing to?"

Mark raised and eyebrow. "Um, okay. How about twenty points? I'm a gentleman, so, you can go first. And our first movie title is... One Hundred And One Dalmatians"

I laughed again. "Easy peasy. The song is _**Cruela De Vil**_ " Then I started singing.  
  
_Cruella De Vil, Cruella De Vil,_  
_If she doesn't scare you_  
_No evil thing will,_  
_To see her is to_  
_Take a sudden chill,_  
_Cruella, Cruella De Vil,_  
_She's like a spider waiting_  
_For the kill_  
_Cruella, Cruella De Vil,_  
_At first you think_  
_Cruella is the devil_  
_But after time has worn_  
_Away the shock_  
_You come to realize_  
_You've seen her kind of eyes_  
_Watching you from underneath A rock!_  


__

Mark just stared at me open mouthed for a few seconds. I raised an eyebrow at him. He closed his mouth and swallowed then turned to the camera and stage whispered. "I'm in so much trouble. I didn't know she could sing! She's got a killer voice too, that was awesome. What am I going to do guys? Send help!" Mark turned back to me and looked down at his app. "Okay, it says there was only one song for that movie, so I have to find a new movie for myself. Lets see what it comes up with... Hmm. Okay.  The Jungle Book. Shit." Mark went Quiet for a few seconds, thinking. I grinned. Instantly thinking of several songs. He eyed me suspiciously and groaned. "I think there was one called _**Bare Necessities**_?"

I nodded. "Yup. Do you know the lyrics? I do if not." Mark shook his head, looking sad. I laughed and started singing again.  
  
_Look for the bare necessities_  
_The simple bare necessities_  
_Forget about your worries and your strife_  
_I mean the bare necessities_  
_Old Mother Nature's recipes_  
_That brings the bare necessities of life_  
_Wherever I wander, wherever I roam_  
_I couldn't be fonder of my big home_  
_The bees are buzzin' in the tree_  
_To make some honey just for me_  
_When you look under the rocks and plants_  
_And take a glance at the fancy ants_  
_Then maybe try a few_  
  
I giggled as I finished the verse and looked at Mark's astonished face. "So, It's still my turn right?" He nodded. "Good. Then the song is _**Trust in Me**_  
  
_Trust in me, just in me_  
_Shut your eyes and trust in me_  
_You can sleep safe and sound_  
_Knowing I am around_  
_Slip into silent slumber_  
_Sail on a silver mist_  
_Slowly and surely your senses_  
_Will cease to resist_  
_Trust in me, just in me_  
_Shut your eyes and trust in me_  
  
"Now I believe there are two more songs in the movie, or at least the animated version."

Mark blinked. "How the heck did you know that? That's what the app says too. That there are four songs, anyway. That's almost spooky. You're not cheating are you?"

I crossed my arms, getting annoyed. "Mark, I don't have a phone or computer with me. How can I be cheating? Besides, why would I cheat? Just because you're losing doesn't mean I'm cheating. Grow up." 

Mark blushed. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that, babe. You're just really good at this. I'm a little shocked how good you are, honestly. I had no idea. You're wiping the floor with me." He shook his head. I can't come up with any of the other songs for this movie either. Do you know them?"

I smiled and nodded. "One of them anyway. _**Wanna Be Like You**_  
  
_Now I'm the king of the swingers_  
_Oh, the jungle VIP_  
_I've reached the top and had to stop_  
_And that's what botherin' me_  
_I wanna be a man, mancub_  
_And stroll right into town_  
_And be just like the other men_  
_I'm tired of monkeyin' around!_  
_Oh, oobee doo_  
_I wanna be like you_  
_I wanna walk like you_  
_Talk like you, too_  
_You'll see it's true_  
_An ape like me_  
_Can learn to be human too_  
  
And I believe that puts me at twenty three points to your one point. Yes?"

Mark flinched. "Damn girl. You destroyed my ass. Rematch?"

I chuckled. "Sure. Maybe you can double your score this time and get two whole points before I slaughter you."

Mark pouted and winced, then looked at the camera. "That was unfair and quite possibly accurate. We'll just have to see. Double or nothing this round?"

I smiled. "Fine by me, Mr. Iplier. I hope you're a good cook." Mark got a little sweaty, remembering the details of the bet now. I just chuckled to myself. "I'll even let you start round two. What movie are we starting off with, my good sir?"

Mark hand visibly shook as he flipped through the app screen. Finally he read out the screen, his voice shaking slightly. "The Lion King. Oh good, at least it's one I know. Okay. Um. _**I just can't Wait to be King**_." I raised an eyebrow at him and gestured for him continue. He stared at me blankly.

I looked at him. "Mark? Are you just going to hand me the points for singing it again?" Mark blushed and shook his head. Then he launched into the song, faltering a little a few times, but doing a decent job overall. I smiled at him when he finished up. "Good job, Mark. You managed to get six points on the board already this time. Now it's my turn. Let's see. I think I'll go with _**Hukuna Matata**_." I launched into the song with enthusiasm, making Mark smile. He actually joined me for a duet when we forgot we were on camera and doing a challenge again, both of us just getting up and singing and dancing around to the song like the giant Disney nerds we were. We both grinned hugely when we finished the song.

Mark laughed again. "Okay, full points for that. Actually, it think you should get bonus points for the dancing and getting me to sing along, plus knowing all the lyrics. I'm awarding you ten points for that one, not that you really need the extra points. You're in the lead again."

I smiled at him and shook my head. "I really don't need the extra points, Mark. I'm fine with just getting the six I earned for singing and naming the song."

Mark shook his head. "I say you deserve extra for all that."

I rolled my eyes. "We'll leave it up to the comments section then. Guys, leave a comment down below with your opinion. Do you think I deserve the extra points for making Mark dance like a doof with me, like he thinks, or not, like I think? Now, Mark, it's your turn to come up with another song. Tick tock, buddy boy. Time's a wasting."

Mark grinned at me and nodded. "Yeah. How about _**The Circle of Life**_ then." And Mark launched into the song, doing a remarkably good rendition of the song. I smiled at him the whole time he was singing, loving his voice. I felt like I was getting a private concert. Mark smiled at me when he finished and I clapped. "Okay babe, your turn. again."

I nodded and blushed faintly, closing my eyes as I said " _ **Can You Feel The Love Tonight**_ " and immediately launched into the song. I didn't open my eyes again until I finished singing. Mark was looking at me again, a look in his eyes I didn't recognize. He stepped over to me and gently stroked my cheeks again with his thumbs, cupping my face in his hands. I relished the feeling, bringing my own hands up and cupping his hands in mine, staring into his eyes as I tried to read the expression in his eyes, but it was useless. Too many emotions flashed there, too quickly for me to interpret, darting back and forth in the coffee colored depths, like flashes of quicksilver fish beneath a bottomless sea. I drew in a breath and when I released it, Mark's name was on my lips, soft as a sigh.

Mark smiled as he moved forward, closing the distance between us again. When our lips touched, it was a gentle kiss, soft as rainfall, but somehow electrifying to all my senses. I drew back from Mark after just a few moments and looked at the camera. He blinked and shook his head, trying to clear it. "Damn. Okay. We need to move on. So we're still tied on points, according to you. I still think you're ahead." I gave him a long, slow look. Mark grinned and held up his hands. "We'll leave those points up to the comments to decide later. Moving on though. Next movie. Um... Lady and The Tramp. I don't know any of the songs from that movie to be honest."

I grinned. "Well there's _**Bella Notte**_." Which I then sang to him, making him grin at me. " _ **What A Dog**_ and finally _**The Siamese Cat Song**_ and yes, that really is what it's called." I sang both of them (they were very short) and took my points with a small bow to the camera. "And that concludes another thrilling game of 'thrash the Markiplier with Disney songs'. I guess he's going to have to film two videos of himself cooking meals for me now in the near future, just to show he fulfilled his end of the bet, so I guess I'll be back in more videos soon." 

Mark laughed and started doing his outro. After he finished, I made sure the video had stopped recording, then leaned in close and kissed him again. Mark pulled me into his lap, returning the kiss very enthusiastically. "Mmm, I'm going to have to lose more challenges to you if this is how you reward me. Was this a pity kiss?"

I laughed, looking into his face. "No, sweetie. I just couldn't stay away any longer. Now, let me take this stuff back to my office and start editing. You can work on recording your second video for the day then, in peace, without the extra distraction too. We can both get more done that way." 

Mark smiled and nodded, giving me another quick kiss before he let me get up from his lap. "All right. I'll be back to see you with the second video in a bit. Do you want to just work on editing Jack's videos until I'm done? I can bring both videos back after I finish up in here."

I smiled crookedly. "Sure. That works for me. Just don't forget, okay? Thanks Mark. See you in a bit."

"Bye baby." I ruffled Mark's hair gently as I headed back out of the recording studio and back to my office. 

Jack was sitting on one of my couches, going over footage for one of his videos, working on editing when I walked in. I smiled at him. Jack grinned back. "So, did ye have fun with Mark this morning? And did ye manage ta keep yer hands ta yerself, or are ye going ta have ta edit a whole lot of x rated scenes out of that video?"

I laughed. "Hey! You actually saw the steamiest thing we did all morning. I manages to kick Mark's ass quite thoroughly at his own challenge though. Twice. I think I surprised him. I will have one little kiss to cut out, when he kissed me after I sang a love song, from the Lion King. But it was emotional for both of us, so it wasn't totally surprising."

Jack shook his head at me, raising an eyebrow, but he was smiling. "Ye two were sweet together when I walked in, honestly. And thank ye for worrying about my feelings too lass. I know ye wouldn't try ta hurt me on purpose, and ye would never try ta drive a wedge between Mark and me, but tha fact that ye made sure ta mention ye wouldn't come between us was very thoughtful. I just wanted ye ta know how much I appreciated that."

I blushed and smiled, sitting down next to Jack and giving him a friendly hug. "Jack, you really are one of my very best friends, ever since I moved out here. You, Mark, and Dan have been looking out for me constantly and making sure I don't just hole up and hide from the world like I usually do when I'm not working. You make me actually take some time out of the day and go do something fun, plus you make sure I'm remembering to eat regularly, something I'm not terribly good about, because you guys are always asking me what I'm cooking or telling me what you want to eat, inviting me along when you're going to get a meal, or even just mention you're hungry and telling me it's time to eat something. Or you'll see I look tired and ask me how I slept or tell me I need to stop whatever I'm working on at home and go to bed for the night and rest, reminding me things can wait. I need that in my life sometimes, and I appreciate the way the three of you have just stepped in and taken on the roles you have. I'd miss any of you terribly if you weren't around anymore, for any reason." I rested my head on Jack's shoulder and sighed. "Mark asked me earlier what my feelings were for you and Dan. To tell you the truth, I hadn't thought much about any of you romantically until very recently. You're my friends, first, last, and always, I hope. But with you and Dan, Jack, my feeling as definitely more like brothers. The more I think about it, the more right that feels to me. I hope that doesn't hurt you, to tell you that. That's honestly the last thing I want to do, to any of you. My feelings for Mark are just different. Definitely not brotherly."

Jack smiled and kissed my forehead. "Yeah, I could tell lass. Ye don't kiss a brother tha way ye were kissing him in tha booth when I walked in. Jaysus. Ye two looked like ye were just completely lost ta each other and never planning ta come up for air. But ye also looked a little shaken up about something. Do ye want ta talk about it?"

I looked down at the floor. "Something came up that kind of triggered me. I had a really rough childhood. Occasionally I get a bit sensitive about something, but not often. When it happens, I can spiral out into a panic attack, freeze up, or stop responding at all, to anything. It doesn't happen often, thank god, but it's pretty scary when it does happen. Mark was kind of comforting me and it lead to that kiss that you walked in on. I'm still sorry about that. We are trying to be a little discrete still."

Jack laughed softly. "Good luck with that lass. Ye can probably manage alright, but Mark wears his heart where tha whole world can see it. No doubt everyone in tha office will have guessed by tha end of tha day he's in love, just maybe not with ye, if yer lucky. Don't worry, I won't say anything ta anyone."

I blushed. "I don't think he's in love with me. He cares for me, yeah, but it's too soon for anything else, Jack."

Jack looked at me, disbelief clear on his face. "Lass, ye can't be serious. Mark's head over heels for ye. He's so in love with ye he can barely see straight. Honestly, tha only reason I hadn't asked ye out already was because I knew how deep his feeling for ye were and I was waiting ta see if he was going ta manage ta work up tha courage ta ask ye out himself. He's been working himself inta a state over ye every night for weeks, trying ta figure out how ta approach ye. Ye really didn't know?"

I shook my head, utter mystified. Jack chuckled softly and hugged me, seeing my expression. I felt stunned. "I had no idea at all. I wish... I wish he had said something to me sooner. It's not like I would have turned him down."

Jack smiled. "That's what I kept telling him, when he'd call me and whine about it or ask what ta do. He just couldn't work up tha nerve. How did he actually manage it today?"

I blushed. "Um, I kind of forced is hand. He started acting really strange and because of my anxiety issues, I made him stop and tell me what was going on. He finally sat down and stared into my eyes, then suddenly leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back. Then he asked me out. I said yes. He started almost skipping around the room, he was so excited."

Jack snorted. "Yep, that would do it. Good on ye lass. Sometimes ye need ta take charge with him. Not always, but sometimes. Good on ye for figuring out this was one of those times. I'm happy ta see both of my friends happy together. I think ta two of ye are going ta be good for each other." Jack smiled at me again. "Now come on lass, we best focus on work for a bit, before everyone else shows up, or yer new boyfriend comes back and tries ta accuse me of stealing ye away from him or something equally ridiculous."

I blushed, but smiled happily and nodded, looking at the time. "You're right. I have a lot of work to get through today, what with the extra videos for both you and Mark to edit today. What were you planning to record for your third video today? Or were you just going to leave it at two today and not push so hard? We do have a decent backlog in the queue, so you could do that, if you want, you know."

Jack chuckled. "Nah. We can get started then I'll go record another video. I think I'm going ta do some Flash games or something short though. Probably just a one off game if not that, but either way, it won't be a long video. I'll be done before one I'd imagine. I doubt ye'll have any trouble finishing all tha videos up before filming wraps for tha evening, even with tha extra editing, unless Mark is doing really long videos. Even my Subnautica video isn't that long today. With tha editing, it'll probably be about forty minutes or so, max. Tha reading comments was right short too. I hope it's long enough ta be a full episode, actually. Let me know how that one looks when ye finish up, please. I'm a bit worried about it. I was hoping we could work on it first."

"Sure Jack. Let's get started." We settled in at my desk, with Jack pulling up his usual chair and we went over the video. Twenty minutes or so passed before we knew it and the video was almost fully edited down to about eight minutes. Jack was smiling, looking quite pleased. He sighed and sat back. I smiled at him. "Well, if you want to go work on the thumbnails for the videos, I can finish this up and get it rendered and queued. Then I'll start the Subnautica edits while you go start recording again. Unless you want me to do the thumbnails today?"

Jack grinned at me. "Tell ye what lass, ye do tha thumbnail for tha reading comments and I'll do tha one for Subnautica. We'll decide later for tha other video, after we see what I end up recording and it's all edited, okay? And thank ye. That was a hell of a lot smoother than I thought it was going ta be. Ye really are a whiz at this." I smiled and nodded, then settled in and got to work. 

I had finished the thumbnail and was working on editing Jack's Subnautica video when Mark came in nearly half an hour later. Jack had already left the completed thumbnail for me and gone back to the recording studio to work on his last video for the day. I found a natural stopping place in the video and smiled up at Mark, taking a short break as soon as I could pull myself away from editing, needing a short stretch and some more tea anyway. I stepped over to the mini-fridge and grabbed a bottle of iced tea, stealing a fast kiss as I walked by Mark. Mark smiled at me. "Hey babe. How's the editing going?"

I chuckled. "Not bad. I'm probably about half done with this video, and I finished the other one Jack did this morning already. He's back recording one more now, so I'll have it to edit for him today, and yours but that's it. I'll probably be ready to start on your first one in about another half hour or so. Did you get everything you wanted to recorded for the day?"

Mark nodded. "Yeah. We did the collab first, which I think went really well, even if you did whip my butt soundly, and I recorded a vlog about the con this weekend, which is pretty short, and the other video is a longer playthrough of a new game I found that a bunch of fans were requesting I try out, but even so it's not that long. I'll work on the thumbnails for them while you finish up with the edits for Jack's video over there and we can work together on the edits, okay?"

I nodded. "That works for me. Especially for the collab video. It's probably going to need more cut from it because of how, um, distracted we got a few times. Why don't you get yourself a drink and maybe a snack, if you want one, for while we're working too. It's probably going to take the rest of the morning, at least, to get though all that editing. We can call in an order from the cafe across the street for lunch and have it delivered and work through lunch, unless you really want to take a break."

Mark smiled at me again and kissed me. "I do, but I know you need to work. Besides, what I want to do we wouldn't have time for at lunch anyway. Maybe if we work through lunch we can actually get out of here at a reasonable time tonight instead."

I smiled back at him. "That was my plan. I'm going to go see if I can help the film crew after I finish up with the editing or at least see if you and Jack can get out of here a bit early for the next couple of days. You're both pushing yourselves to record a lot of extras so if they don't need you on set as late, I'll swoop in and rescue the two of you and see you both fed in the process. Everyone will benefit from it. You and Jack will be less worn out and more energized for work, I'll have less editing of mistakes from overstressed and exhausted YouTubers, and my dear friend and my boyfriend won't be nearly as miserable. Plus I'll actually get out of work at a decent time myself. That's good news all-around."

Mark laughed. "You're so smart. You've thought of all the angles there babe. Good job."

My eyes danced merrily. "Hey, it's my job to think of these things. That's why I make the big bucks here, Mark. And just because we're not announcing our relationship yet doesn't mean I'm not thinking about us, as a couple. But really, I need to buckle down and finish Jack's video up now. You take care of whatever you need to do and come on over in about half an hour or so please. I'll let you know if I finish up sooner on this video, okay sweetheart?" Mark smiled softly at me again and nodded, looking back at his computer screen. I headed back to my desk with my drink in hand, getting back to work. I worked steadily for a solid twenty minutes before I finished. Then I stood up and stretched, reaching toward the ceiling. "Mark, I'm done with Jack's video now, so if you can wrap up with whatever you're working on and bring your setup over to my desk here we can get started on the editing in a few minutes. I'm going to go check in with my team real quick first and just double check that Bob and Wade don't need anything before we get under way. Then we can just work straight through until lunch, or even keep working through lunch if we need and have the food order delivered. I've done that plenty of times. It just depends on how long the editing looks like it's going to take us, I suppose, and what else I need to get through this afternoon."

Mark smiled as he started gathering his computer gear up and bringing it to my desk. I stopped him just long enough to steal a kiss before I headed out the door. Mark's smile brightened considerably and he chuckled. "Mm, thanks babe. Now, go check in with everyone. I've been working on some rough edits and social media this morning, but there's a lot to get through for the actual videos,and we have three of them to edit." 

I sighed. "I know Mark. Just remember, I can do the editing without you, if I have to by now. You can focus on the filming this afternoon and let me worry about the videos. I like working with you, especially to get the rough edits in place at the beginning, but I know pretty well by now what both you and Jack want and expect for your channels and videos. I'm not going to screw things up on you, especially right now, after we just made that big announcement about the TV show." I reached out and stroked a hand along Mark's cheek, a smile flickering across my face briefly. "Besides, as your girlfriend, I'm going to be more worried about looking out for you, not less. I want to make your life easier and better every way I can."

Mark blushed faintly as he pulled me in for a hug. "I like the sound of that. It's definitely something I want to explore more of too. I feel the same for you, sweetheart. You make my heart race and everything just so much more special already, I feel the need to do the same things for you, whenever and however I can. God, I had no idea I could even feel this way about another person. You just look at me and my heart races. It's almost scary."

I kissed his forehead then held his hand for a few seconds, looking him in the eyes, fondly. "Mark..." He met my eyes, a look in his that was hard to read in those coffee-colored depths. I felt myself drawn into the look, into his warm presence, more and more as the moment wore on. After a long few minutes, I mentally shook myself and leaned forward, giving him another small kiss. "I really have to go now, Mark. I'll be back in a few minutes. You just get ready to work when I get back okay?"

Mark's smile quirked at me, an impish gleam coming into his eyes. "Of course, babe. Even if you are awfully distracting, I'll make sure I focus for a while instead of doing what I really want to do."

I smiled back at him and raised an eyebrow, teasing him a little, giving him my best sexy voice. "Oh? And what's that, Mr. Iplier?"

Mark blushed faintly as he leaned in the last few inches between us and caught my lips with his again. "Nothing we should be doing at work, I'm sure, or that I want to have my friends or the fans for that matter, finding out about, particularly. Mmm, you feel so good here and taste even better, sweetheart. My god. You're doing things to me, so many wonderful, sinful, delightful things." Mark closed his eyes, panting slightly, his lips parted and swollen, looking absolutely wrecked. I bit my lip, trying to control myself and not moan at the sight of him like that in front of me like that or whimper like I was desperate for more. I think I managed, but I'm not sure. I closed my own eyes, and started counting my breathing, willing myself to calm down. Mark had gotten me quite stirred up, intentionally or not, and we both had other things we needed to do, and a long work day ahead of us to get through. I gave myself nearly three minutes of calming breathing before I tried opening my eyes and trying again. Mark was looking at me curiously when I opened my eyes, his head tilted to one side. "Babe, are you okay? What's going on?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. I just needed to take a minute to calm down. You had me really, um, worked up. You looked so good there, Markimoo, and I was a little, uh, anxious to have some alone time with you. But I know we both have to wait, at least for now. I managed to calm myself back down now and can focus again, at least until the next time you melt my brain. Let me go check in with everybody now and then we can work. You can get calmed back down too. You still seem a bit excited. See you in a few." I threw a wink at Mark as I walked out of the room, noticing Mark blush and his still overly tight pants. He shook his head at me with a grin and a small groan, shifting a little in place, amused and clearly turned on by my words and a little surprised as well. I was hoping maybe tonight he would be willing to stay over and relax with me, even though we had just agreed to a first date. I knew it was fast, but I also knew when I decided someone was right for me, I didn't change my mind easily and I just knew Mark was right for me, on a deeper level then I could easily explain. I sighed. I was glad Jack at least was in our corner and knew about the two of us already. I knew the rest of our friends would be happy for us too, when we eventually told them, but I also knew Mark probably wanted to keep things between us private for a while, which I certainly didn't mind. I wasn't going to lie to people, particularly not our friends and families, but I wasn't going to rub anyone's faces in things either.

As I walked down the hall, the hum of busy people starting their day at work, made me smile. I stopped by my booth and looked in on Jack. He was still recording his last video, so I didn't disturb him, just nodding to myself that everything looked to be running smoothly on that front. I left a note on his booth window that his other videos were all set to go and queued, so just to drop the last one off for me later, sometime before he needed to head into filming for the afternoon, if I didn't see him he headed out to lunch. I knew he would see it as soon as he wrapped up. I smiled to myself again and headed out of my booth again, stopping at the doorway for Bob's office to knock briefly. He grinned at me when he called out for me to come on in. Wade was already inside too. I smiled openly at both of them. "Morning guys. I'm just checking in with everyone real quick to make sure nobody needs anything specific today before I get locked in editing hell again. I finished two videos for Jack already this morning, but Mark still has three for me to do and Jack's in recording another one now. Plus, I might need to help with filming either a promo or camera work, depending on what's going on with the show later and how fast I can get everything finished and queued. I just wanted to make sure things are running smoothly for everybody else too. Anything I need to address or look into? Any collabs you want me to arrange or schedule? Time off requests you need me to run through for you or things you need added to the calendars?" I chuckled as both men shook their heads. "It's been so much easier to have me just handle all the scheduling from one central calendar system for everyone. It's been a lot easier to keep track of who's working what conventions, what fan meetup are planned, and just generally get things arranged for everybody."

Wade grinned at me. "Yeah, well, it's certainly easier for _us_. We don't have to do anything anymore except tell you what we want to do and approve the conventions or meetups I still have no idea how you keep everybody's stuff straight, run your camera department, all the YouTube stuff, manage the editing for both Mark and Jack, and still do all the other stuff you do. I think secretly you must really be an army of clones that you just send out one at a time to multiple locations at once, and you just make sure you have more than one of you in the same place at the same time so you don't freak people out. It's the only reasonable explanation I can come up with."

I raised an eyebrow at Wade. Bob started laughing. "The only explanation, huh buddy? Not that she's a really hard worker and just works faster than anyone else we've ever met? Jeez, Wade get a grip. I think you've been overworking. That or Molly's been slipping something into your food."

I smiled and laughed softly with Bob. "That could be. Well, if neither of you need anything from me, I'm off. If you need me, I'll be in my office, working with Mark until he needs to go film for the afternoon, or until he leaves to go get some food, whichever comes first. Jack's going to drop off his last video whenever he finishes or before he has to go start filming, I hope, so I can get to it this afternoon too and hopefully get everything done before we all have to go home tonight. I'm just going to check in with a couple more people before I head back to my office first. See you guys later." Bob and Wade waved and resumed their conversation as I stepped back out of the office, heading down the hall to my department's cubicles and offices. When I got there, everyone was already busy, working on whatever projects they needed to get through for the day, before the filming started. I checked in briefly, confirming no one needed anything before heading back toward my office. Just before I stepped back in, I popped into Vicki's office and checked in with her as well. "Good morning boss. I'm just checking in with you. This is going to be a really busy week and I might not have the chance later. Anything I need to be aware of coming up?"

Vicki looked at me for a minute, then back at her computer screen. "Yeah, actually. You know the guys have to go to a convention this weekend, right?"

I nodded. "Yep. We're all prepping extra videos for them as we speak. Jack's in a recording session now and Mark's in my office working on some rough edits. He's waiting for me to get back to hammer the rest out and get down to the heavy work as soon as I get back. I checked in with Bob and Wade already and they are going to start in a few minutes. My crew is already working on things too. Everything should be well covered before the convention though so nobody should notice any differences as far as uploads go. Why?"

Vicki nodded and smiled. "Well, actually it's nothing to do with the YouTube side of things right now. We're hoping you'll be willing to go with the guys to the convention again. It was really helpful having you explain everything about the show and answer the questions as they came up. The show will pay for your expenses again, of course, and we had already booked an extra room, in case we wanted anyone to travel with the guys to film any behind the scenes footage. I talked to several people though and everyone has agreed that we'd rather have you there to answer the questions and field problems or issues for everyone. You keep your head in a crisis and know how to get in touch with someone here right away if you need to, and who to call, but better yet, you know how to handle things on your own most of the time. We, as a whole company, trust you. Even the owner is behind you and supports this decision, in case you were wondering."

I blinked. That was a lot of trust and support being offered up to me. I nodded slowly. "Th-thanks Vicki. I'll do my best to live up to all that. Um. Wow."

Vicki grinned at me. "You already do. Now I'll let you get back to work. I'm sure you have plenty on your plate and I know you said Mark was waiting in your office."

I nodded, standing up slowly, feeling a little shaken and walked back over to my office. When I opened the door Mark took one look at my face and instantly rushed over to my side and swept me up in a tight embrace. "Babe? What's wrong? You look pale as a ghost and a little unwell. Are you okay?"

I snuggled myself into Mark's arms and chest. "Sorry. I'm just a little shaken up. Vicki surprised me with something she said and it's throwing me off my game. I'll be okay in a minute or two. Especially if you hold me close until then."

Mark nodded, smiling softly, and kissed my forehead. "Of course sweetheart. Come here. Let's go sit down then until you feel better. We'll just put the sign up that you're editing and not to disturb us so we can get to work after you recover." I nodded. Mark shifted a little and reached behind me, adjusting the sign I kept to hang from the doorknob of my office, posting it on my door and reclosing the door gently, but firmly, then guiding me over to one of the couches and sitting both of us down. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down and let my nerves and anxiety settle. Mark very gently stroked a hand down my back, seeming almost afraid to touch me. 

After a minute I took a few deep breaths, push the anxiety away, and opened my eyes again and looked at Mark. "Okay, I'm doing better now. Sorry. Vicki told me she wants me to go with all of you to the con this weekend and field anything that comes up. That's not really what shook me up though. It wasn't until she told me how much trust and faith everyone, including the owner, has in me that I started to get a bit overwhelmed and anxious." I looked down, swallowing. "I have some issues from things in my past I haven't dealt with very well. Sometimes I get a little triggered or overwhelmed."

Mark nodded. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to talk about it right now. You can tell me about it whenever you're ready, or not at all, if it comes to it. Whatever you need to do to stay happy and safe babe. I just don't like seeing you sad and scared like you seemed to be when you came back in here after you talked to Vicki. I was afraid you were going to collapse for a few minutes there." Mark smiled again and hugged me closer, then leaned in and kissed me gently. "I can't stand the thought of seeing you hurting, even for a minute."

I smiled back at him, relaxing into his touch. "I'll keep that in mind, Mark. And I really am doing better now. I just needed a few minutes to gather myself. I have trouble handling my emotions when people give me a lot of praise sometimes, which is dumb, I know." I rested my head on his shoulder. "I have a lot of confidence issues because of somethings that happened to me growing up. Someday, I hope I can tell you about them, but not right now. Not at work. We both have way too much to do this week." I smiled. "You know what this means though, right? Me going to the convention too, I mean. We get to spend the whole weekend together, at the hotel, and we can probably slip away for some alone time, just the two of us, if we can manage to ditch Bob and Wade. Jack will probably even help us. He knows about our relationship after all. So, if you're ready, we could, potentially, um, sleep together."

Mark beamed at me and kissed me, hard, then hugged me even tighter, drawing a small squeak out of me. "That would be amazing. I don't want to pressure you, if you aren't ready, babe. I mean, we can wait a bit longer, if you want to, but whenever you're ready I'm ready. Honestly, I could and would sleep with you. If you asked me to right now, I would." He blushed. "The only thing stopping me is I'm afraid I'd get too loud and Vicki would hear me."

I chuckled. "Mark!" I leaned forward and kissed him sweetly. "At least wait until after work, you goober. We can go back to my place and have some food, relax, play some games, and do whatever you want there. I have birth control and stuff there too. And a bed, where we can be more comfortable." I blushed as I said that, but smiled brightly at the same time. Mark grinned and kissed deeply me again.

"Mmm. Sounds awesome. I think we have a plan then." I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder for a minute before I stood up straight again. Mark wrapped his arms around me and rested his hands on my waist. "Hey, just stay here a minute, babe. We can take five minutes before we start and get settled. I like holding you close like this and you look a lot calmer here in my arms then anywhere else."

I blushed a little again and met his eyes. "You make me feel safe, Mark, and that helps me calm down and say focused better. I like having you hold me too." I smiled as he pulled me close again and cuddled against him, just resting my head against his shoulder as we both sat down and just breathed for a few minutes, relaxing against each other. both of us closing our eyes for a few minutes and leaning into each other. Neither of us said anything else or moved until there was a soft knock on my door about five minutes later. I sighed and stood up, gently stepping away from Mark. He stayed where he was, looking a little wistful as I opened the door to reveal Jack, who was smiling as he breezed in.

"Hey lass. I finished tha last video for tha day. I'm just dropping it off now. I wanted ta give ye a few notes about it and check in on ye and Mark." I smiled and nodded. 

"Well, come on in then. It's not like you aren't welcome in here, you know that. Mark and I haven't actually started working yet anyway. I just got back from checking in with everybody and was talking to Mark about the change in plans for the weekend. Vicki wants me to come to the con now too, to help with behind the scenes filming and to answer any questions that come up. The company is going to pay to send me too, so I couldn't exactly turn it down, not that I was really going to when she asked." I sat down behind my computer, putting the hard drive with the new video on top of the computer tower.

Jack blinked at me. "Really? Ye're coming too?" I nodded. Jack grinned. "Do ye want me ta help ye and Mark have some time alone in tha hotel ta yerselves? I think I can distract Wade and Bob ta help arrange that, if ye want. We'll just make sure tha rooms are arranged so yer room is between mine and his again, if at all possible. Then ye can just slip over, easy as pie. Or do they have tha two of us sharing Mark? Then ye could slip over ta her room. I know she won't have a roommate."

I chuckled. "I don't know if they have assigned anyone rooms yet, Jack. We can figure all this out later, closer to the day we leave, or even after we actually get to the hotel. But, we would love if you would help us have some alone time together this weekend, Jack. Right now, we have a lot of videos to get through to get added to the queues and edited. I'm planning on taking a working lunch, probably everyday this week, so I can get all my work done. That means I'll be working from my desk while I eat. You guys can leave, obviously."

Mark scowled at me, coming over and sitting down next to me at my desk in his rolling chair. "Babe, I don't like the sound of that. What are you going to eat?"

I smiled softly at his concern. "I'll order something from the cafe across the street and have them deliver it, Mark, or call someplace else that delivers. There are lots of places around here that deliver you know. They bring it all the way to my office door any way. I can just keep working until it gets here and only take a minute to sign for it when it gets here. Come on, I have a pile of work to get through. You know that."

Mark sighed. "Yeah, I just hate to hear how hard you're pushing yourself. We're definitely doing something fun tonight, after work." I grinned at him as he leaned close and gave me a kiss on the cheek, sending him a sassy look that made him blush just a little.

Jack chuckled. "Ye two are sweet together, ye know. I'm happy ta see tha two of ye working things out so well like this and talking. Now, do ye mind if I start tha edits on my video while ye work on one of Mark's videos, [Y/N]? I can work on it for a bit, at least until I'm ready ta go get some lunch."

I nodded. "Sure Jack. Whatever you want to do. You know I don't have any problem with you doing your own editing. I just don't want either you or Mark overdoing things this week to the point of exhausting yourselves. Don't forget, you both have to film for the show this afternoon too."

Jack sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know. That's why I'm only going ta work until lunch. I probably won't get very far. I might only get tha thumbnail done. But something is better then nothing, right?" I smiled and nodded again. Jack grinned and settled on the couch with his laptop and a cup of coffee.

Mark looked at me and gestured to the computer in front of me. I nodded and we buckled down, getting started on his editing. We made steady progress on his videos, finishing the first one in record time and getting through more than half of the edits for the second one before Jack got up to leave for lunch, handing the video files back over to me on the hard drive. I smiled at him again as he left, waving him off. Mark and I paused briefly and looked at the time about fifteen minutes later, deciding to call in an order for lunch for both of us from the cafe. Mark insisted he was going to stay here and eat with me, even of he wasn't going to work through lunch, like I was. I nodded absentmindedly, continuing to edit as Mark took the opportunity to stretch, get a drink, and walk around the room while he called the food in. I wrapped up the last of the edits for the second video just as the food arrived and set it to render with a small smile of victory on my face, deciding I deserved a break for that. I looked at Mark. He blinked at my expression, looking confused. "Babe?"

I chuckled and stood up, walking over to the couch, standing next to Mark now as I brought the food over for both of us, and smiling down at him. "I finished the video Mark. It's rendering now. I can't really do anything else until it finishes anyway. I'm going to take a break while it does and eat my food with you. I'm just over halfway done with videos for the day. That's pretty good progress. Just one more for Jack and the last one for you to do after lunch, then anything I need to do to help out on set today."

Mark smiled, took the food, set it on the table in behind me, and pulled me down, into his lap. "That deserves a treat. Come snuggle me for a few minutes, sweetheart. Both of us have more than earned it, for how hard we've worked this morning and how much work we've gotten done. You're amazing, as I knew, but you've been a hell of a wizard this morning to get through all the videos you have this morning."

I shifted in Mark's arms and rested my head on his shoulder, making Mark smile brighter. The two of us both sighed contentedly, wrapping our arms around each other without conscious thought. Mark leaned forward just enough to grab our food before he settled back against the back of the couch, letting both of us get comfortable again. He handed me my container without a word and opened his setting it on the cushion beside him so he could eat one handed, leaving the other arm wrapped around my back and tucked in beside my hip. Neither one of us said anything for a little while, just quietly soaking in peaceful happiness we were both experiencing now, cuddling innocently with each other. I was very glad my office door was locked and the window on it was frosted so no one could see in, even if our actions were relatively mild. If anyone but Jack had seen us snuggled against each other like this, the entire office would be set atwitter, buzzing like a hive of bees that had been kicked. Mark and I didn't need the hassle, especially since neither of us really knew where this was going to lead yet. I had high hopes, based on how I felt, how deep my own feelings for him were, and how long I had had a secret crush on him, but I knew better than to try to pin him to anything yet. I smiled to myself. For gods sake girl, we hadn't even been on one date yet. For all I knew we weren't even going to be as compatible, physically, as I hoped. I doubted it, based on the kisses we had shared this morning, but I was trying to keep perspective on things, even in my own head. Mark saw my expression out of the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow at me, curiously. I chuckled and answered his questioning look. "Sorry Mark. My brain was getting ahead of itself. I was trying to reign myself in a little and the direction of a few of the thoughts as I mentally argued back and forth with myself amused me. It sounded, even in my own head, like a whiny teenager."

Mark grinned and chuckled. "And what were you arguing with yourself about, sweetheart? Anything you want to share? I'm willing to try to help you with anything you want to share, you know. I am your friend, first, last, and always. I really don't want that to change, no matter what else happens between us."

I blushed. "Um... I was trying to tell myself not to let myself runaway too fast in this relationship and go too deep, too fast. I don't want to scare you off, or move too fast, or anything."

Mark laughed. "Oh, babe, I doubt that's going to happen. I've wanted to date you since the day we met. The more I've gotten to know you, the more I've wanted to be close to you. I can't imagine you could do anything to scare me off now. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

I smiled, still blushing. "I have a little secret to confess then. You have always been one of my celebrity crushes, Mark. I was so distracted that first day, meeting you guys in person, it was a wonder I got through the day. It's been like a dream, an amazing dream come true, getting to know you and spend time with you." Mark stilled for a minute and looked at me, then moved forward, bringing his other hand up, tipping my head up and bringing my head in close to kiss me. We both closed our eyes and lost ourselves to the kiss for a long moment, breathless when we finally broke it in the best way, and I had the feeling stars were dancing behind my eyes. I opened my eyes to see Mark looking similarly stunned and a little dazed. I reached a hand up and stroked his strong jaw, tenderly. "You mean so much to me, Mark. I don't know how to properly put my feelings into words sometimes." I pressed a few quick, light kisses on his cheek and settled back against his chest, my head on his shoulder again, and picked up my food to eat once more. 

Mark growled, deep in his chest. "Babe, you're so sweet and sexy, it's killing me. I have all these feelings bubbling up for you too, and I have no idea what they are yet, or how to begin to sort through them. I'm a little overwhelmed by all of them, but not in a bad way, I promise. You just make me feel good, all warm and happy all the time. I just want to be with you as much as I can. You make me incredibly happy."

I smiled and pressed a kiss into the spot where my head was resting, the spot where Mark's neck and shoulder joined along his collarbone, making him shiver deliciously under me. "Mm, you make me incredibly happy too Mark. You make me feel safe, something I haven't felt very many times in my life, and like I can do anything. I know I'm strong, but I feel like when I'm around you, I don't always have to be, like I can let my weaker side show and you won't judge me for it, or hurt me." I looked down. "I've never really felt that way before, so please don't hurt me."

Mark lifted my chin with his and again to look me in the eye. "Babe, I wouldn't ever do that to anyone, let alone someone as special as you. I care about you way too much to ever hurt you on purpose." Mark hugged me tight then just held me as tears slowly slid down my cheeks. Neither of us were aware of how much time was passing until there was a knock on my door and Jack poked his head in. He immediately ran in when he saw how upset I was and how we were sitting, how Mark was holding me and trying to comfort me, just to see if he could do anything to help. Mark smiled at him. "Hey Jack. I got this, I think. Things just got a little personal and we touched a nerve. [Y/N] needs a few minutes to collect herself again, right babe?"

I nodded and sniffled. "Yeah. Thanks Mark. Sorry to cry on you like that." Mark just patted my back and waved it off, then kissed my forehead tenderly, wordlessly letting me know he didn't care. I looked at Jack. "Did you need something Jack?"

Jack smiled at me. "Just checking in on ye. Also, I came ta get Mark. It's time ta go start working on filming for tha show for tha day in about twenty minutes. I figured tha two of ye might not be paying attention ta tha time, if ye spent yer lunchtime together, so I could help make sure ye both actually got some food in yer systems and stayed on track enough so no one found out what was going on."

I smiled at him. "Thank you. I think if anyone else had walked in and seen me crying on Mark's shoulder like that though, they would have just assumed he was comforting a friend, not his girlfriend." Jack and Mark both grinned and nodded. I sighed and cuddled back into Mark's chest again, curling up a little. "But you are right, we do need to eat. Do you mind locking the door for us, while we finish up? You are more than welcome to stay and talk with us."

Jack chuckled. "That was my plan, lass. Not that I don't trust ye, but I think tha two of ye might get a bit distracted if I leave, for some reason." Both Mark and I blushed, but neither of us denied it. Jack just shook his head at the two of us, grinning broadly and patted both of us on the shoulders. "Relax, yer adorable together. Besides, I like seeing tha two of ye happy with each other. Ye both make each other happier then ye are alone, and as yer friend, I like seeing that. Plus, ye are good for each other. Maybe tha two of ye will actually manage ta keep each other on track and from letting work swallow ye up completely now."

I chuckled. "Like you don't do the same thing, Jack. You work just as hard for your channel as Mark does. And I see you, spending every spare minute on social media, when you think no one is paying attention. That's one of the reasons I make sure to cook for you guys as often as I do, so I can make sure you both are eating, and eating decent meals, not just takeout or junk food all the time. I know you both like my cooking and hanging out with me, and you guys help me remember to relax more too. Honestly, you guys and Danny are my closest friends out here by leaps and bounds."

Mark just smiled and settled back a little more comfortably on the couch. "Good. I like helping you and hearing you like the help. And I love you cooking, babe. You're an excellent cook. You're lots of fun to hang out with and game with too, so it's not like that's a hardship either, for any of us. Even just sitting around talking or watching movies is fun." Mark winked at me. "I might be a bit biased, but I think anything might be fun, if you were involved."

I giggled, blushing just a little, as I picked up my food again and gave him a look, one that clearly told him to behave himself. Mark laughed at my expression and picked up his own food, resuming his lunch. Jack grinned at us and started a conversation with us about a movie he was excited for that was coming out soon, one he and Mark had both been invited to the premiere for. I listened, occasionally giving an opinion, but mostly I just focused on my food and when I finished, I stood up, kissed Mark on the cheek, and threw my trash away. Mark blinked at me, owlishly, looking startled. I chuckled. "I'm going to go finish editing, sweetie. You finish up. You guys will need to head down to filming pretty soon. Jack's already been here almost fifteen minutes, so you guys need to head out in the next five or ten minutes, I think. I'll probably be done editing within an hour and a half or so, then come see if they need me on set to help with anything. Sound good?"

Mark nodded, pulling me in for another quick kiss, then let me go. Jack smiled as he watched and winked at me as I walked away, clearly amused by our interaction. He gently teased Mark for a few minutes as Mark finished eating, mostly about 'goin' soft' and being easily distracted when I was around. Mark blushed and stammered, trying to deny the claims, but not very successfully, while I just listened with half an ear as I got back to work, amused. Nothing Jack was saying was really untrue or all that mean, so I wasn't going to say anything for now. Mark was an adult who could handle a little teasing from his friends or speak for himself if he was uncomfortable, I knew, and unless he said something or the hassling got too bad I wasn't going to step in between the two. They had been friends far longer then I had known either of them after all. Bantering back and forth seemed to be just part of their friendship. I hummed softly to myself as I worked, smiling softly the entire time I was editing. When I finished up the last of the videos for the day, I added them to the queues and headed down to the set to see if anyone needed my assistance with anything on set. Everyone smiled when I arrived and greeted me warmly, looking surprised to see me, especially as early in the afternoon as I got there. Usually, if I stopped in at all, it wasn't until well after the filming break, usually around four thirty or five, just because of how long editing often kept me busy, or staying on top of the scheduling had me tied up for, now that I had that added into the mix. When I checked in today, I was surprised to find everything was running smoothly and nobody needed any help with anything. I sighed. The director grinned at me. "Go take a break. You've earned one. My god woman, you do more work then two thirds of the rest of the staff here combined, we swear. None of us know how you do it. You make all of us feel like slackers, you know, and we aren't. So go do something fun for a change for a little while."

I laughed. "I can't. Jack will need a ride home still with me tonight. He always rides in, and usually home, with me since he's my next door neighbor. But if nobody needs me on set, I'll head back to my office and work on my next animation for a while I guess."

The director shook is head at me. "Unbelievable. You two must drive your neighbors crazy. You both have more energy and work drive then anyone I've ever met. Jesus Christ, what are weekends like around your apartment complex?"

Bob, Wade, and Mark laughed, having come over. Mark volunteered a comment. "Fun. Loud. Crazy. Wade and Bob live just upstairs from the two of them and they live just next door from Dan, Arin and Suzy from the Game Grumps. When we can manage to pry [Y/N] away from work, she cooks for us and we usually all end up playing games and hanging out. She's pretty awesome you know. Sometimes she bows out to do her own thing, but we can usually manage to drag her out at least a few times a week for things." 

Wade laughed and nodded. "Yeah, she's a good sport about letting us bum food off her and constantly invade her apartment to play games or watch movies and things." He smiled at me. "I have no idea what she would be doing on her own if we weren't around all the time, but I suspect her life would be a lot quieter."

I chuckled. "I manage on my own, if I have to. I usually read and do more art when I'm by myself, Wade. Or play games alone. I like the company though, and I really like cooking for other people, so I don't mind that you guys are over a lot. I tell you if I need a day to myself for whatever reason. It's not like you guys don't let me have the time to myself if I really need it." I smiled again. "I'm pretty introverted you know, so some days I just can't handle anymore socialization. That's usually when I have to bow out of things and take a day to myself. I usually just curl up in bed and read or spend the day locked up doing something away from anything where I might have to actually talk then. I even try to avoid social media, mostly on those days."

Everyone nodded. Bob patted me on the shoulder. "Hey, we understand. We didn't know it was quite that bad for you, but we understand. Now, if you want to head home, either Mark, Wade, or I can drive Jack home later. You've been working a lot of extra hours lately and I happen to have heard a rumor that you got asked to work at the con this weekend, which means even more extra hours for you. You probably need to go home and unpack from the con we just got back from, do laundry, and pack for next weekend, right? Wade and I are lucky. Molly and Mandy are willing to help us with that. Mark and Jack usually just throw the clothes they are taking in the suitcases last minute. Sometimes I swear they don't even unpack them between cons, especially when they are back to back like this. They just have the hotels do the laundry for them before they leave after the end of one con or before the start of the next one." Bob adjusted his glasses. "Seriously, if you want to head home, one of us can make sure Jack gets home."

I smiled. "Well, if all of you are sure..."

Everyone nodded. The director grinned. "Yeah. Mark and Jack are going to have a short day anyway. The two of them don't have much left on the script today and they have been overworking. We know they've been recording extra videos for YouTube all morning too, so we want to let them get out of here early. We'll send them both home soon."

"Well, if you're going to let them both go early, I'll go cook them some dinner. They can just come hang out at my apartment after they finish up and relax for a little while. That way I'll know they got home okay and had a decent meal and we'll all get a chance to unwind a little before we have to come back tomorrow and start all over again."

Everyone nodded, liking my plan. Mark winked at me as I left. I headed home, stopping for a few groceries on the way to make homemade green Thai curry with chicken and basmati rice. When I got home I also made a batch of my secret recipe banana chocolate cookies, baking them before I even started the curry. Once the cookies finished, I set them to cool and cooked the curry, then put the rice on, leaving the curry on low to simmer and stew the flavors until the guys got here. I smiled to myself and settled on my couch, curling up with my ebook reader to read for a while, enjoying a little quiet downtime for once. I lost myself in the book, time slowly slipping by, with me occasionally getting up to get a drink and stir the curry, stretch, or go to the bathroom. Around six there was a knock on my door. I put my book down and got up, stretching again and went to answer it. It was Mark and Jack, both of them looking a bit fried around the edges and frazzled. I smiled and waved them in, stepping aside so they could come in. Mark stopped to pull me into his arms for a kiss. "God, I missed you this afternoon. It was exhausting filming today. We kept having to do retake after retake of the same shot. Jack and I are both done in. We're just wiped out."

I hugged Mark close and pushed the door shut with my foot. "Poor baby. Come on in, both of you. Dinner is ready. If you want to go get a plate of food from the kitchen, Jack, I made a Green Thai Curry with Chicken and basmati rice both of should still be warm. There's beer in the fridge too. You know where the plates are, right?" Jack grinned and nodded. He was over often enough to know where all my dishes and silverware were and he knew he could help himself to anything I had in the kitchen. I rubbed Mark's shoulders and back. "Come sit down and get comfy baby. I'll dish both of us up some food and bring it out. We can cuddle together and you can just relax and unwind with me. What do you want to drink? Tea? Lemonade? Water? Soda? Milk?"

Mark sighed contentedly as he melted under my touch, walking slowly to my couch as I kept rubbing his back and shoulders. "Oh god that feels amazing! I'll have whatever you bring me sweetheart. Honestly, I'm not picky and anything is fine. I'm more than happy to have you here, with me. I'm super grateful you cooked too, especially after the long day we had at work. You were right, this is going to be hell week. I think I might just see about heading home later tonight for a little while and coming back, with a couple of bags of clothes to camp out, either here or at Jack's, until after the con."

I smiled and kissed Mark's cheek. "Sure sweetie. I have the guest room. You can setup in there if you want. Or we can figure something out, I'm sure. And you can ride in with me in the mornings too, like Jack has been, and save on the price of gas." I gave Mark a hug, then stood up. "Get comfortable Mark, I'll be right back with our dinner and a couple of drinks for us. In the meantime, why don't you see if you can find something for all of us to watch, either on TV, in my DVD collection, or on Netflix. I trust you to pick something all of us will like, so pick wisely." I smiled to myself as I walked out of the room, seeing Mark look a little nervous as he looked at the television remote like it was suddenly a snake instead of an electronic device. I hummed softly to myself as I dished Mark and I plates of food, moving around the kitchen, nodding to Jack as he opened his beer and grabbed his fork from the drawer. He grinned at me as he headed back out and I hear him greeting Mark, then groan as he got settled and comfortable. I suspected he might end up falling asleep after dinner, which had happened a few times when he had overworked and come over to relax in the evening before. I didn't mind at all. If anything, I felt flattered he was comfortable enough to trust me enough to relax around me that much. I always just tucked him under a blanket and let him sleep until morning. My couches were comfortable. I had slept on them myself, more than a time or two, when I had drifted off, watching TV or while using my computer. At least if Jack fell asleep, I made sure he had pillows and a blanket and was laying down so he wouldn't wake up with a cramped back and a crick in his neck in the morning. I shook my head at my musings and grabbed Mark and I drinks from my refrigerator, raspberry iced teas for each of us, and stuck forks on the plates of food, carefully balancing everything as I made my way back out to where Mark was waiting. I smiled at him again as I handed him his plate then his drink.

Mark grinned and took them, setting his drink down on the coffee table. "Thank you, angel. This looks amazing and smells even better. You really made this from scratch? You have so many fantastic skills." I blushed as I sat down, immediately cuddling into his side and hiding my face against his shoulder, setting my food and drink down on the table to wrap myself around Mark as I trembled and shook my head a little. Mark looked at me, surprise on his face. "Hey, I'm serious. You are incredibly talented. You don't have to be embarrassed when I give you a sincere compliment, babe. I was just telling the truth."

I ducked a little closer to Mark's side, and buried my head against his neck now, a few tears working their way down my face. "I'm sorry." I sniffled and tried to calm down, fighting back anxiety again. 

Mark set his food down to wrap his arms around me. "Come here, sweetheart. Can you tell me what's wrong?"

I trembled slightly and shook my head again. Now was not the time to go into my messed up childhood. I swallowed. "Just hold me for now, please. I'll be okay again in a minute. Like I said earlier, I just get a little overwhelmed sometimes when people pay me a lot of compliments or focus on me." Mark nodded sadly and kissed my forehead. 

Jack, who had been watching the whole time, looked sad too. "Lass, I hope someday ye can tell us who did this too ye. I understand this isn't something ye can talk about right now, but I hope ye know we care about ye and just want ta help, in any way we can. Ye've clearly been through some pretty bad things, and we'll listen any time ye want ta talk about them." Mark nodded again, still slowly stroking a hand down my back, soothing me. 

I sighed. "Thank you. Both of you. I'm just not ready to talk about what I've been through, with anyone, really. It's just too painful." I shivered. "Let's just eat our dinner and watch something mindless on TV. Mark, did you find something for us to watch yet?" I looked up into his face. Mark smiled softly at me and nodded. He turned the screen on and opened Rick and Morty. We both picked up our food, cuddling into each other and eating quietly. I stayed tucked into Mark's chest well after I finished, taking both our plates and setting them on the table, then just curling up against him, gently rubbing his back with one hand, almost absentmindedly. Mark leaned into my touch, relaxing ever more as the evening wore on. Jack meanwhile drifted off to sleep at the end of the second episode, just after finishing his food and beer. I smiled and got up holding a finger up to my lips and gestured to Mark to turn the TV off. Mark did, smiling as he watched me gently remove jack's shoes and socks, lay him down on the second couch where he had been sitting, and put a couple of pillows under his head as well as a throw blanket over him. I turned the lights down to low and had Mark follow me out of the room and down the hall so Jack could sleep in peace. He was exhausted. I looked at Mark. He didn't look all that much better. "Mark, babe, stay here tonight. You can drive home tomorrow morning and get your stuff then come in for work after that. If you leave at the same time Jack and I do, you'll have plenty of time to get home and be in to the office by your normal time. You look too tired to be driving tonight." I leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss. 

Mark grinned at me and pulled me in close. "I'm not going to argue. But I was hoping you might have another reason for keeping me here too. One that was a little more fun, for both of us and would guarantee we both relax and sleep very soundly." He deepened his voice and practically growled in my ear. "You did ask me to wait until tonight after all."

I looked at him, desire simmering in my belly. I nodded and gently took his hand, pulling him back to the bedroom a finger on my lips. "Shh. We'll have to be quiet though. I don't really want to wake Jack to have Bob and Mandy hear us. If you get too loud, we'll have to stop." Mark gave me a devilish grin and kissed my shoulder, then started sucking a hickey along my collarbone. I bit my lip. "M-mark. Pl-please" I was panting now, already starting to melt from what he was doing to me, the fire of desire and need burning through me. "Please don't leave any marks where my clothes won't cover. And slow down a minute. Oh god, babe, you're killing me."

Mark chuckled. "Baby, you're the one who's killing me. You're so hot, I feel like I'm going to catch on fire just from looking at you. You taste so good. I've wanted to touch you, to kiss you ever since we first met. I can't believe you actually agreed to date me." Mark reached up and stroked my cheek, as though reassuring himself I was real. "So sweet and pretty." He brought our faces back together, drawing me in for another deep, soul-searing kiss.

I whimpered softly when I felt Mark's other hand move, trailing under my shirt now, making me feel scorched wherever he touched. Mark pulled back just enough to breathe and looked at me again. I panted against him, unable to process anything any longer. "Mark, please. I need you. You're making me feel so good, I can't take any more teasing. Please, baby." 

Mark just smiled and nodded, walking me backwards, kissing me deeply again, his hands all over me, fumbling with our clothes and rubbing gently on my skin, caressing me with his fingers as though he couldn't bear not to touch me, even for a second. I was doing the same, exploring every inch of him with my fingertips and eyes while trying not to break the kisses, pulling Mark's clothes off as carefully as I could. Both of us were more than half naked by the time we got to the bed. Mark grinned and gently pulled away from me long enough to finish getting naked. "Okay babe, showtime. Take the rest of those clothes off and get in the bed for me, okay?" I nodded eagerly, stripping and stepping out of my clothes, tossing them aside, and climbed into bed, laying back, looking up at Mark through lowered lashes, practically drooling as I watched him taking his own clothes off. Mark looked down at me laying there and growled, a deep, rumbling noise that made me heat up even more and unconsciously lick my lips and shift on the bed as I watched him. He swallowed and ripped his boxers off, the last of his clothes on his gorgeous body, and flung them away, immediately reaching for me on the bed. I met him halfway, reaching up for him at the same time, grabbing his face in both my hands, pulling him in close for a deep kiss. Both of us were panting, grinding on each other, our hands exploring each other's naked bodies now, and feeling so good. Mark groaned softly as we separated for a minute, our foreheads resting together so we could just breathe for a few seconds. "Baby, this is amazing. If you keep this up though, I'm not going to last long. Jesus. You are so hot, you're making me feel like a teenager again."

I smiled. "You're doing things to me too, Mark. I want you so much." I reached over to my nightstand and opened the drawer, carefully. "Mark, there should be a new box of condoms and some lube in there if you want grab them. I don't know if we need the lube, but we definitely need the condoms." I grinned at him. "Um... You feel kinda, big, baby, so go slow. I haven't been with anyone in a really long time and don't have much experience anyway." 

Mark smiled. "Hey, the lube will help, and I would never hurt you, sweetheart. I'll make sure you are nice and opened up for me before we actually get started okay? I'll go ahead and get started now. Thanks for warning me." I blushed. Mark just leaned forward and caught my lips in another kiss as he pulled the box of condoms out, grabbing the lube with the same hand, and sliding the drawer shut in one graceful movement. Mark set the things down on the bed next to us, not breaking the kiss and popped the bottle of lube open, squirting a little on a few fingers, and reclosing it for now. He rubbed the lube along his fingertips and up and down my opening for a minute then started fingering me slowly, working first one, then two, gentle fingers inside me. Before long I had to bury my head in his shoulder to keep from crying out, the sensations overwhelming me as he worked my body like a violin. When Mark added a third finger, I gasped and he had to catch my moans in his mouth with another deep make-out session. Then he moved one of his fingers just slightly, crooking it slightly and I whimpered as my world went white and exploded into pleasure. When I came back to myself, it was several moments later. Mark was grinning at me like a madman. "So, did you like that, baby?"

I nodded as I looked at him, then asked him, "What just happened?"

Mark chuckled softly. "I found your g spot. Pretty good, right? That looked pretty intense though. Are you done for the night, or do you want to keep going?"

I looked at Mark more intently, the fire in my belly still burning for him. I made little grabby hands, reaching for him. "More, please. Besides, you still haven't gotten to the good stuff for yourself yet, Mister. That's hardly fair." Mark grinned and shook his head as he moved to line up with me. I reached over and opened the box of condoms, pulling one out and tossed to Mark. He tore it carefully open and rolled it on. Then he looked down at my body, just admiring me. I looked back up at him, admiring his body the same way. He was perfect, in my eyes. After a moment, both of our eyes met again and Mark shivered then suddenly dove into me. Even with the prep, he was a bit of a stretch for me. It didn't exactly hurt, but I felt... Full. Fuller then I had ever felt in my life, in a way I didn't quite understand. Mark gave me a minute to adjust to him, rubbing my shoulder with one hand gently before I murmured quietly to him "Okay, you can move now." He smiled and set a gentle rhythm at first, one I easily kept up with. Before long, I was changing it slightly, shifting under him, changing the angle for both of us, making both of us speed up and slow down and just feel things more. Suddenly we both rotated our hips just slightly and that was it. We came undone, losing ourselves into each others arms completely. Mark whispered my name into my hair and I silently cried out his name into his chest, orgasming for the second time that night. It took both Mark and I some time to recover from our orgasms, just holding each other tightly, our bodies utterly spent and boneless on the bed, neither one of us able to move for the moment.

Mark recovered first, and slowly wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close. "Hey pretty lady. That was fantastic. How do you feel now?"

I smiled. "Good. Sleepy. Sweaty. A little sore. I want to cuddle with you, but I want to get cleaned up first. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have the energy to do that, at the moment. I don't even have the energy to move at all right now. I can barely even blink."

Mark chuckled and leaned down just enough to kiss me. "Mm, well, I can fix that sweetheart. Come on, up you get." With that, Mark let me go, stood up, reached down and scooped me up in his arms, lifting me from the bed and carrying me into my bathroom. I squeaked just once from surprise. Mark set me down gently so I was standing next to him while he turn the shower on. "I hope you don't mind sharing." I smiled and shook my head.

I reached over and hugged him, my eyes sparkling. "No Mark, I don't mind at all. And if you want to go for a round two, there might be a few more condoms in the closet, with the towels and shampoo. Do you want me to check, or do you want to just wash up and go back in and go to sleep? I'm happy with either one, babe, as long as you are."

Mark blushed a little. "Well, then baby, I'd rather just sleep tonight. I mean, I would have been willing to try, for you, but..." I chuckled as he looked embarrassed. I kissed him softly. He smiled at me, kissing me back. "Thank you for understanding."

I rubbed his arm. "Hey. Don't be shy or embarrassed Mark. You make me happy. You don't need to do anything more then you already are to make me feel that way. I don't want you feeling pressured to act a certain way, just because I offered something. I already told you, I was tired and ready to sleep. I just thought you might want more."

Mark smiled bigger and shook his head. "Nope. Not tonight. You wore me out too. I just want to wash up and cuddle you close. I'm tired too. And we both have another long day of work tomorrow." I nodded. Mark pulled me under the water and proceeded to help me wash up, using tender motions and very gentle hands. I did the same for him. Neither one of us was being sexual about things, it was more about showing the other person how deeply we cared and how much we meant to each other. Mark wrapped me up in a giant bath sheet when we got out and as I handed one to him. Both of us dried off carefully and headed back to the bed, where we both climbed in, still naked, and curled up together, cuddling close now, feeling much better as we drifted of to a peaceful sleep in each others arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a link to my discord server (https://discord.gg/D54AY5N), in case anyone wants to join. There's a whole section set aside to talk about fan fics and writing, one for D and D, and one for YouTube and Twitch stuff. I even have one set up for learning Irish or talking about Ireland, one for video games, another for anime, and even one for food stuff. I run it myself too so whatever I say goes. :) Come hang out and chat if you want. It might help motivate me to write more too... Lol. Also, if you want to see something more on there, just ask. I'm friendly, I swear, and so are the other people on there. The other mod on the server right now is my brother, and I have some friends who I play D and D with, someone who's Twitch streams I have been watching a lot of lately and started moderating and a few other people. My only rules for the server are good vibes and no tearing each other down. There is a room to vent in, so use it if you need it. That's why it's there, after all. But again, no tearing anyone down there, and I would ask no political debate or religious ranting. I want to keep the server civil if at all possible. ;)
> 
> In other news, I managed to get to Jack's show, when he was in DC, for the How Did We Get Here Tour, and even got the VIP tickets, so it was really cool. It was a really, really long day for me, but one of the few good days I had in April, mood wise, while trying to get a handle on my depression and my new medications. If anyone has the chance to go see the show, I highly recommend it. Jack did an amazing job writing the material, and his stories were all really good. 
> 
> And as I mentioned in my updated author's note, I am doing a bit better now. I am getting some help for my depression, which is apparently pretty severe, but the medicines are a bit hard to balance and are taking some time to get right. At the moment, I'm less of a zombie then I was at the beginning of when I started taking them, but I still can barely eat more than one meal a day, and have really bad insomnia issues. I'm also under constant watch for developing bipolar symptoms because of a strong family history of the disease... *Sigh* Oh well. 
> 
> I'm hoping to have another chapter of something out soonish. Probably either Night Breezes or Behind the Scenes, which both have partial chapters in the works (but then so do most of my works at the moment, some of them are just really not up to my usual standards) so my tentative plan is to try to have something else out by the end of May? If not, hopefully something will come out in June. Again, it's going to depend on my mental state. Thanks everyone for being patient and understanding while I've been absent.
> 
> And congrats to Jack for 19 million subscribers! That's a big milestone for the community. I wasn't really around when Mark hit the 20 million milestone, but that was a big one too. These two have just been blowing it up lately.


End file.
